Temporal Destiny In The West
by EmmettMcFly55
Summary: The final installment in the SmartMarty Trilogy. Sequel to Marty's Great Experiment and Racing Through Time. Marty needs to go back to 1885 and rescue Emmett, but is kind of sidelined when he becomes involved with Clara Parker. Will they make it home? Well, of course they will, it'd be kind of lame if they didn't. But HOW do they get home? That's what you'll find out reading this.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Back to the Future, Back to the Future Part II, Back to the Future Part III, Back to the Future the Game, Back to the Future The Animated Series, Back to the Future the Ride... anything else semi-official? I suppose that's about it. **

_Author's Note: Welcome to the final part of the SmartMarty Trilogy. For those who haven't read the previous parts, it's a trilogy in which Marty and Doc, well, Emmett have their intelligence switched (naturally, not through some crazy experiment). As a result, Marty invents the time machine. This is Part III, and if you haven't read the previous parts or even seen the movie trilogy at all, check them out or else this won't make any sense. The earlier parts are 'Marty's Great Experiment' and 'Racing Through Time'. Anyway, have fun reading this chapter. And remember to review. That shiny link at the end saying 'Review this Chapter' isn't there to fill up space, you know. Well, it might be. But it's also there so you can use it.  
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**Temporal Destiny In The West**

**1: Chapter One**

Emmett looked at his watch as he tightened the rope around him. There was not much time anymore. Already, he could see Marty and the time truck approaching in the distance.

Mentally hoping for the best, he jumped off the ledge. The abrupt strange sensation of nothing being under his feet didn't last long as he fell downwards, narrowly hit the ground with his foot, was moved up and down for a few moments, and finally came to a rest a few feet from the ground. Relieved, he untied the rope from his body and let himself fall down the remaining feet to the ground.

Luckily, he didn't experience a hard fall. He landed foot-first on the ground, and immediately straightened himself. He ran over to the lamp post, once more checking everything as he arrived. According to the distance between Marty and the lamp post, it was just another five seconds or so before he would arrive, and according to his watch, it was three seconds to go before 10:04 P.M. It was about time.

Three seconds later, the clock tower's clock turned to 10:04 P.M. The next instant, lightning struck it in an epic moment no cinema could have reproduced – well, maybe they could in the future, but not now anyway – and electricity raced down the cables. Emmett managed to connect the two ends just in time but was blown back anyway by the enormous flash of light and sonic boom that resulted as the time truck hit the cables and it and Marty were transported back to the year 1985. The thirty-five-year-old didn't even notice that he had landed in some rather painful bushes near the street. He was too thrilled at the phenomenon he was watching to even feel a slight bit of pain.

As the winds from the temporal displacement cleared up, Emmett stood up and started running through the fire trails. He accelerated as he got further, and eventually, he even made a little dance. He felt a bit embarrassed for doing so – after all, he was a grown up man – but who could blame him for being enthusiastic in such a situation?

After finishing the dance, he began to walk back to the cables, grinning from ear to ear. As he did so, though, another thought popped into his mind. This event did, of course, mean that Marty was gone. There was no Marty around anymore to tell his stories about his horse dealing business anymore. His friend was gone, and he would have to wait thirteen years to catch up with him. And even then, it just wouldn't be the same until 1985.

Emmett shook his head. Well, no use thinking too much about it, he'd just drive himself crazy. And it wasn't like he would be all alone – he would have horses, after all. Sighing, he began to walk over to the cables to remove them.

Just then, he heard footsteps behind him. Ignoring the sound as somebody running through the street or his ears failing on him – after all, that sonic boom was loud enough to make anybody deaf – he continued his way to the cables. He stopped, however, when the person running up to him took his coat and turned him around.

Any annoyance he might have felt vanished as Emmett looked into the face of the person that had just turned him around. It was Marty – the same Marty who had just left. Emmett's mind locked up. "Argh!" he exclaimed. "A ghost!"

"No, wait, Emmett" Marty insisted. "It's just me, all right?"

"That's impossible!" Emmett exclaimed. "I just saw you go back to the future! It's impossible for you to be here!"

"I know you just saw me leave for the times that have yet to come," Marty said, "but I'm back… I'm back from the future!"

As that information caught up to the older man, Emmett felt seriously unstable on his feet – after all, it had been a long day for him, and this new information was too much to take. He wanted to say something, but before he could bring out the words, he collapsed, losing consciousness.

oooooooo

Marty was horrified as he saw Emmett go down. He figured he shouldn't have run up to his friend like that – he should have known the horse dealer-to-be would be shocked. But then again, that didn't mean that he had to faint like this! Stubborn, the teenager knelt down in front of his friend. "Emmett…" he began. "Come on, Emmett, wake up…"

But even as he did so, Marty began to get the faint but rapidly growing feeling that his friend would not wake up, not tonight. He'd have to wait… wait before the final adventure could begin…

"Marty! What are you doing here!"

The teenager jumped up, surprised. Had he just heard his mother's voice… in 1955? Indeed, as he looked in the direction of the sound, he could see his mother. However, it was his mother of the year 1955, not the one of 1985, and she was accompanied by his father. "Lorraine, George" he replied. "I could ask the same thing to you two."

"We came up here to watch the lightning strike the clock tower, as you had told us" Lorraine said, keeping an eye on an excited George.

"It was incredible!" Marty's father exclaimed. "It's one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life!" To his surprise, the teenaged scientist noticed that his father was now not so shy anymore, or at least not like he was before. Whether that was because of him punching Biff out or he was still excited about the lightning, the teen inventor didn't really know.

"As you can probably see looking at George, we liked watching it" Lorraine said. "That's why we went here. We saw you depart… and now you're here again." She looked down at Emmett's unconscious body, then up to Marty. "I can't blame Mr. Brown for being surprised. What are you doing here?"

Marty sighed. "Listen, I'd love to tell you…"

"Go ahead."

The teen frowned at his mother's bluntness. "…but I have more pressing matters to concern myself with. Most importantly, the fact that Emmett is still unconscious, which is highly inconvenient. I need his help in having a place to stay the next few days."

"You could stay at our house" George offered. "I don't think Mom would mind, and Dad…" he shrugged. "Well, knowing Dad, he won't complain much either."

Marty smirked, knowing all too well how his grandfather could shy away from actually confronting someone. Even in the new timeline, with his son being more successful, Arthur hadn't quite lost that. He had improved a bit with regards to confidence, but he had never gone as far as his son did. Perhaps it was really too hard to change one's character after a certain age… which would mean that Marty had probably made his inadvertent changes to George at just the right time.

"That's really nice of you to offer, George" he replied. "I'd take it up, too, but the time vehicle needs a place to stay. Not that I don't trust your parents, who are, after all, also my grandparents, but Emmett's house is much more remote and doesn't require telling more people about my secret. Thus, Emmett's mansion would be the best place for me to stay… if I can wake him up, that is." The teen tried to slap his friend's face, softly, hoping that would make him come to. Didn't work.

"I suppose it would" Lorraine replied. "But, as I said before, why are you here? You can at least give us some answer." She looked down to Emmett, who was still completely out of it. "I don't think Mr. Brown is going to come to any time soon."

Marty frowned. "Don't have that little faith in my capacities regarding waking an unconscious person" he said, stubborn as ever. "I'm sure that he will come into consciousness within a limited amount of time, and then…" He stopped abruptly, as a drop of water hit his shoulder. Looking up, he found that the sky was very dark. "Oh, _perfect_."

The perfection of it was shown a moment later when the next few drops began to pour down out of the sky. The amount of drops increased rapidly, and within thirty seconds, it was pouring. Lorraine shrieked and ran to the side of the street to hide under a shelter. George followed her an instant later. Marty, however, stubbornly remained in the centre of the street, ignoring the rain soaking the letter and the sports book he still had on him. Instead, he looked down to Emmett's face, which was getting wetter with the second. "Emmett, please…" he muttered. "Wake up."

It didn't help. Even with water streaming all over his face, Emmett remained stubbornly unconscious. Marty sighed. "I guess I'm going to have to take him home."

Take him home. It wasn't a very pleasant foresight, but Marty knew that he didn't want to wait any moment longer than necessary in the pouring rain out here. Plus, Emmett wasn't going to wake up soon. Marty could see that now. It would probably take a few more hours. Hours he did not want to wait on the street. He might catch a cold out here.

Marty stood up and ran over to his parents, leaning against the wall next to them. "I'm not sure whether I should ask this or not," he said, "but could you two help me with transporting Emmett back home? I can take his car, but it's still a matter of getting him there first. Considering the car is quite a distance away…" He shrugged. "I suppose I can't do it alone."

"We'll help" George said. "If you hadn't asked, we would've done it anyway." Lorraine nodded, and the two of them walked over to Emmett. Marty reached into Emmett's pockets and, after a few seconds, retrieved the car keys. He handed them to Lorraine who went off to open the passenger door of the car.

It was now up to George and Marty to do the harder task: transporting Emmett over. Which, considering the horse dealer-to-be's weight, wasn't that easy. After a few minutes of struggling, however, they managed to get it done. With Lorraine's aid, Emmett was put inside and left on the passenger's seat. Emmett immediately slumped forwards and was left in a slightly uncomfortable position. Marty got in and sat down on the driver's seat, but was unpleasantly surprised to see Lorraine and George following him, entering through the passenger doors in the back.

"What are you two doing?" Marty asked, surprised.

"Simple" Lorraine said. "You required our help for getting Mr. Brown in, so I suppose you also require our help for getting him back out and into the mansion."

Marty frowned. "The walk from the car to the mansion is shorter" he said. "I could manage that."

"You could, but you don't have to" his mother said on a tone that told him she wouldn't like him arguing with it. "We have nothing else to do and we're willing to assist you in it, so why turn down our offer for help?"

"Yeah" George chimed in. "No offence, but you would exhaust yourself even more if you did it alone. Plus, you still have to tell us what you are doing back in 1955 again after we just saw you leave."

Marty smirked. "I'm not going to win this fight, am I?" he said. "Fine, you can come with me."

The ride to the mansion was kind of quiet. Marty had to keep his eyes on the road and on Emmett, George was still awed by the fact that he had punched Biff out and had just seen the most amazing thing he'd ever imagined seeing, and Lorraine knew better than to disturb either of them. After roughly a quarter, they pulled up to the Brown mansion.

Marty grimaced as he opened the door. "I should have figured from the noise that the rain hadn't ceased, but I figured I could have some hope at least it had decreased in intensity" he muttered. "Oh, Great Scott."

"Is it still as horrible?" George asked.

"More like worse" his son replied. "The rain is definitely gushing down on us now. It's like the supply of a month is coming down… did you have a lot of rain this month?"

"Not in Hill Valley" Lorraine said. "It's been relatively dry all around the past weeks in here. It was worse in Sacramento, where Dad went around Halloween to pick up some things for his work, but here…" She frowned. "Do you think there's a connection?"

Marty shrugged. "There might be one, there might not be. Anyway, we have more important things to worry about." He opened the passenger door, allowing Lorraine to get out, and handed her the keys again. George had already exited, and together the boys moved over to Emmett to carry him out of the car and into the mansion.

Despite nearly slipping on the wet steps in front of the door, Marty, George and Emmett made it through this minor adventure alive and well and got inside (once they had found the keys in Emmett's left pocket, after searching on every other possible place). Marty guided them over to the living room, where they put Emmett down on the couch. Within a few seconds after the thirty-five-year-old was in position, Marty went over to his face and gave it a soft slap again. It was no avail, though, as Emmett didn't wake up.

"Definitely unconscious" George said. "I don't think he's going to wake up within the next few hours."

Marty winced. Though he had thought the same a short time ago, hearing it from a second source only hammered the message home. "I suppose you are correct" he muttered, sighing and sitting down on one of the chairs. "I'll have to wait some time for him to wake up."

"If it's going to take a while, you'd better get him into a more comfortable position" Lorraine said. "I'm not sure whether he notices anything of it right now, but I am certain I wouldn't like being asleep in a position like that. He still has wet clothes and everything on."

"You're absolutely correct." Marty got up, and he and George carefully removed Emmett's jacket, shoes and socks. Lorraine returned with a blanket and a towel. After trying to dry Emmett's pants with the latter (which didn't work so well, so Marty went over to fetch the hair dryer from the place his friend had put his future possessions, causing George and Lorraine to freak out a little until he explained that it was really innocent), they put the blanket over the poor horse dealer-to-be and sat down in their own chairs again.

Marty didn't get any rest, though. He had barely touched the chair, when Lorraine once again asked the question she'd been waiting to ask ever since he had showed up at the Courthouse Square after his younger self had been sent back:

"What are you doing here?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own BTTF. Wait, did I just say I didn't own BTTF? I think I said I didn't own BTTF!  
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_Author's Note: All right, I think it's been a while since I last posted a chapter for this story, isn't it? It's been a while since I last posted a chapter for _any _story, for that matter. So, enjoy it while you can. This is the new chapter, which is about... well, what happens right after the next chapter. Basically lots and lots of conversation. Does anything actually happen here? I don't believe so. You could choose to ignore this chapter (in which nothing actually happens, like I just said) and read on, except that the less you review, the less of a chance there is that there will be something to read on... in, so that if you do read and review, you can read on, but you no longer can because you've already read it and now I'm blowing my own mind, that's it, I'll stop this Author's Note right now. Just read it. If I can take my time to write it, you can spend less time to read it. _

**2: Chapter Two**

Marty sighed. "Do I have to answer that question?" he said. "Revealing the answer to you might be…"

"Dangerous, we know" Lorraine said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like we're going to tell everybody about your adventures. It'll just be George, Mr. Brown and I. And you, of course." She frowned. "Or did we tell people in 1985, and have you come back to prevent us from doing so?"

Marty shook his head, slightly amused at her innovativeness regarding speculations. "No, that wasn't it" he said. "I suppose I might as well tell you. The truth is that I came here for this book." He held up the sports book. "You see, when I arrived in 1985 after departing, I decided to head into the times that have yet to come from my perspective, something I had been planning to do from the start. After telling Emmett and you what happened, I departed 1985 and arrived in a beautiful world. Having travelled around a bit, I returned and fetched Emmett and his future wife, Jennifer, for a journey to 2015."

"Sounds okay so far" George said, though he raised an eyebrow at the prospect of the Mr. Brown that he knew (to a certain extent) having a wife. "What happened to make you go back here?"

"Biff Tannen is what happened" Marty said. "We encountered him during our journey through the Square, and somehow, he realized that I built a temporal field warping and displacement vehicle. He stole it, travelled to 1955, gave this book to himself and altered history. When we returned to 1985, we found Hell Valley."

"That doesn't sound very good" Lorraine said. "But considering it's Biff…"

"Exactly" Marty said. "I soon found out that Biff had used this sport book to make himself a billionaire. It's a book with future sport statistics, from 1950 to 2000. Emmett had planned on buying it, since it was still usable in 1985 – all he'd have to do was bet on the outcome of a sport event, and he'd win. I, of course, disapproved of using time travel for such purposes."

"You just needed to be a spoilsport, didn't you Marty?" Lorraine remarked, smirking.

"I have my reasons, and mine are better than most" Marty retorted. "And I got clear evidence of the damage this could have caused when Biff bought the book for himself and gave it to his '50s self. In the alternate world he'd created, the town square was completely remodeled, with a giant casino on top of the Courthouse. He also owned the police, gambling was legal and prostitution de facto as well, and life was a living hell for the people who had not been killed by Biff's hands or by his accomplishes, and who weren't on top of the system either. You, George, were murdered by Biff personally and Emmett was locked up for it. Lorraine, you were forced to marry Biff because you had money problems and couldn't care for me and the other children on your own."

Both of his parents went pale. "Please… please tell me you are joking" George whispered. "It would mean that our future child has a terrible sense of humor, but I think I can live with _that _better than with what you just told us."

"I am afraid I can't tell you that" Marty said, sighing. "Well, I could, but then I'd be lying. These events happened, and with your assistance, Lorraine, we found out why. We got the information of when it happened out of Biff and travelled back in time." He looked at them. "The date we travelled to was today – November 12th, 1955."

George and Lorraine nodded, now understanding why Marty was here. Lorraine suddenly had a thought. "Marty… during your quest to get that book back from Biff, did you bump into one of us?"

Marty immediately understood what she was talking about. "As a matter of fact, yes I did" he replied. "I had an encounter with George before he went out to the car, talking at the dance, and that noise that distracted the younger me so you could push him to the ground – well, that was Emmett calling to me on my walkie-talkie. I was behind the bushes there."

George gasped. "That explains a lot" he admitted. "To think I was actually talking to you… well, I knew I was talking to you, just not… the younger you…" He frowned. "This probably means that what happened next shouldn't entirely confirm with your memories either. I mean, Lorraine and I still got together, but without those two encounters, things might have gone a little different."

"Very good thinking" Marty said. "Yes, I suppose so. There's no way to investigate every exact detail, though, and everything appears to be fine. Let's forget about it for now."

"So, how did you get that book back?" Lorraine asked. "You didn't tell us how you got it away from Biff yet. And why are you here? Why didn't you and Mr. Brown's older self go home right away… where is he, anyway?"

"That's right, I hadn't gotten around to telling that" Marty agreed. "You see, after George knocked Biff out, I managed to retrieve the sports book from him. After that and an incident involving Biff's gang and my younger self, Emmett and I went off to Hill Valley Park to burn the sports book. I was about to burn it when Emmett, who was flying the truck above me… I had a hover conversion done in the early Twenty-First Century… was struck by lightning."

George and Lorraine gasped. "Is he… did he… die?" the former asked, pale.

To their relief, Marty shook his head. "I thought so at first, but then I remembered that the temporal field defining circuits, the time circuits, had read 'January 1, 1885' when Emmett was hit – we had some kind of error with the circuitry which caused them to revert to that date – so I speculated Emmett had been sent back in time by the energy of the lightning bolt. After another encounter with Biff where a man from Western Union saved me, I was proven right as that man had a letter with him which had been delivered to his office seventy years ago. It was from Emmett." He pointed at the half-wet envelope, which he had put on the mantle to dry. "I never got past the first few sentences before I decided to head off and fetch Emmett's younger self, but considering that he's not going to wake up soon anyway… shall I read it now?"

"Sure, why not?" Lorraine said. "I have to admit, I've gotten curious about what's inside."

"I've got to say, so have I" Marty said. He walked over to the mantle and retrieved the envelope. Taking the letter out of it, he began to read. "Dear Marty, if I remember well where the truck was hit by lightning, you should recei – recie – get this letter at the place where you are and about a minute after the lightning strike."

"Grammar is not his strongest point, is it?" George said, smiling faintly even though he knew he shouldn't.

"It's never been" Marty replied, then continuing. "First of all, let me thank you for giving me this advice about writing a letter earlier on when we were still in 1985. I've remembered it well and now I'm profiting from it, apparently."

"What's the purpose of that 'apparently' remark?" George wanted to know.

Marty shrugged. "It's Emmett" he said as a means of explanation. "And for that advice about the letter – we were talking about possibilities after I got back, and this is one of the things we've discussed." Looking down towards the letter, he continued: "Secondly, I'm alive, living in the year 1885. The truck apparently had that on the display – you really ought to fix that glitch – and sent me here.

Initjiallie, I wanted to stay here 'cause the Old West has always been one of my favorite hysterical era's and it's..." with that, Marty looked up, embarrassed about having to say these words, "…freaking awesome."

"What's awesome?" Lorraine asked.

Marty shrugged. "It's a word commonly used in the 1980s" he explained. "It means something like 'great' or 'fantastic'. I don't ever use it, but Emmett does." Returning to the letter, he added: "However I eventually came to realize that I'd miss Jenny and the horses too much, and you of course.

Therefore I did what you said and wrote this letter, and I hid the truck in the Delgado Mine. I hope that you will find it there with help of a map I drew to go with it. After you fix the truck come back here as soon as possible and pick me up. I'm a blacksmith here, by the way. Your friend in the space-time thingy…" Marty paused for a moment, before adding the final words of the letter, "Emmett Lathrop Brown, September 3rd, 1885."

George frowned. "So, you're going to have to go back in time again? To 1885 this time?" He whistled. "And I thought my life was tough. Or at least, it was before tonight."

"I am afraid I'll have to do so, yes" Marty muttered. "I can't leave Emmett in there. Not only would that raise the problem that Jennifer and I would miss him and I don't want to have to explain his sudden disappearance, but his presence could alter history, too." He stared out of the window in an absent-minded fashion. "Perhaps history has been altered already… it's not like I've seen enough of Hill Valley yet to determine that."

"It looks fine to me" Lorraine said. "I mean… well, of course it would look fine to me if what you say is true and we're not capable of seeing that, but well, I don't think there is anything weird about this world. In that other world you were talking about, where Biff was rich… I'm sure I would have noticed something was strange then."

"You certainly did" Marty said. "That's part of the reason you helped us, too. And part of the reason why you delayed marrying Biff until it was really necessary…" He saw Lorraine wince. "Sorry, I shouldn't have used those words. Would you prefer another line of conversation?"

"I suppose I would" Lorraine said, quietly. "Like that sports book you mentioned. Where is it?"

For a moment, Marty frowned, as he'd forgotten about the book in the chaos, and he wondered whether he still had it on him. However, he had no reason to worry. After a quick look through the pockets of his wet jacket, drying on the heater, he got out the book. "This is it" he said, softly.

Lorraine looked at it with fascination for a moment, then stood up and snatched it out of Marty's hands. The teen gasped, horrified. "Give that back!" he exclaimed.

"Why?" Lorraine replied, holding the book over her head so Marty wouldn't be able to reach it. "You were planning to burn it, so you don't need it anymore. And I think I could find some use for it."

"And that's exactly what I want to prevent!" Marty called out. "Having knowledge from the future fall into the wrong hands is something that should be avoided at all costs, for it could inevitably cascade into a catastrophic alteration of the timeline!"

George frowned. "Are you saying that Lorraine is 'the wrong hands'?" he asked.

Marty sighed, realizing just how sensitive the issue was. "Of course not" he replied diplomatically. "That is, not in principle. But the thing is that no one's hands are 'the right ones'. This book should be destroyed for it could cause alteration of the timeline, no matter who would gain possession of it."

"And is that such a bad thing?" Lorraine asked. "You didn't seem all that worried by George and me having a better life in the future, which will be, after all, caused by time travel."

"George and _I_" Marty corrected. Seeing his young mother's frown, he added: "I'll admit that some changes are for the best, but that still doesn't mean one should try to be the cause of them. It could backfire very easy, after all, and it's not ethically right."

Lorraine frowned. "I get why doing what Biff did would be wrong" she replied. "But you know I would never do something like that with the book. Perhaps I'd place a few bets, just to ensure George and I have a happy life and have no money troubles… but I would not try to remodel the town square according to my wishes, much less 'buy' the police to kill people." She shivered at the thought.

"I didn't think you would do that either" Marty said. "It's just the principle of it. Imagine you accidentally altered the future in a major way, because you had this book? And as a result, I wouldn't be born, or I wouldn't become a scientist…"

"I don't think that's very plausible" George pointed out. "We know of your future existence, so naturally we would try to ensure you're still born and still got into science."

"Even so, you could end up changing some things that you never knew shouldn't be changed" Marty replied. "After all, you don't know everything about the times that have yet to come from the world's current perspective – and no, I won't tell you either, because I know it will be too heavy a burden for you to bear the next thirty years. Emmett could tell you all about that burden – he's complained about it several times this past week. And never mind that, it's still a fact that no man should know too much about the future. Not only is it dangerous and heavy to bear, it's also not fair. By using future knowledge, you'll give yourself an unjust advantage."

Lorraine hesitated. "I guess so" she replied. "But the opportunity…"

"I understand that it's tempting" Marty said. "But I said no to Emmett when he wanted to buy the book in the first place, and my convictions haven't changed, so I must also say no to you. Allowing to you what I haven't to Emmett would be unfair." He stared into Lorraine's eyes. "Please, Lorraine. I don't want the future to be jeopardized because of this book."

Lorraine sighed. "All right then" she muttered, returning the sports book to her son, who smiled. "Thank you" he said. "I'll burn it right away, just to ensure you won't have the same temptation again."


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: In SmartMarty language: I do not possess legal ownership of the "Return to the times that have yet to come from the world's current perspective" cinema projections.**

_Author's Note: Another chapter, at last. The final 'evening of the 12th' scene, which is really about time by now as in the movies none of this is covered. Of course, none of this happened in the movies, but never mind that. This chapter features Lorraine twice as much as it does George, but part of that is because there is some new text I wrote recently in a scene that was already Marty/Lorraine anyway (in a 'features those characters' way, not a 'features that pairing' way, although that also briefly appears) and I couldn't really insert George in there. Now, my apologies for not posting for so long (it's September 7th now and it was July 25th last time) but no, I can't guarantee it won't happen again, and it probably will because I'm getting more busy and too lazy to convert any of the story I've got to postable material (and a bit too nervous as well - part of the reason I'm holding out is that the story will be harder to edit once online) so sorry for that as well. Now, I think it's about time you get to read the story, so I'll just conclude by wishing you all a happy Marty Returns From 1885 Day, and encourage you to read and review!  
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**3: Chapter Three**

The fire was already running, and the addition of the sports book proved to be not much of a problem. The three teens watched as the future book was reduced to ashes. "Well, I guess that's it" George muttered.

Lorraine nodded and looked at the window, trying to distract herself from the book. She whistled. "Marty, look at the weather outside" she said. "George was exaggerating earlier on, I think, but I have to admit that it is a quite fascinating storm."

Marty nodded, walking over to her and the window. "Yes, it is" he said. "In the future, the Hill Valley lightning storm will become famous for that. Part of that will be because it stopped the clock tower, but…" He shrugged. "Well, that wasn't the only source of its fame."

"It's ironic, isn't it?" George said, speaking quietly so he wouldn't have to miss much of the noise of the storm. "To think that this storm helped you get back… and it also helped you get stuck here again."

"That's indeed an intriguing turn of events" Marty said. "It's not as serious this time, though. Unlike the previous time I was trapped here, I now have a safe way back home. Of course, it is stored in the Delgado Mine which I can't access at the moment, not without sufficient supplies to gain access, but at least with this time machine, the problem should be minor."

"What problem?" George said.

"The problem Emmett's inevitably gotten himself in" Marty said, smirking a little. "He hasn't returned to 1955 yet, so the only way to explain that is that he either trapped himself in 1885 by having an accident with the temporal field warping and displacement machine when accelerating up to 88, or the lightning bolt damaged something that makes him incapable of returning home. Considering that Emmett isn't a technician, the problem capable of making him be stuck here doesn't have to be all that sizeable." He paused, suddenly thinking of something. "But… what if it was?" The teen suddenly rose up and began to pace through the room "Great Scott, what if something is really wrong? Something I can't repair because the 1955 technology is not advanced enough or something that concerns part of the future additions I made that I don't know about because I only managed to install them with help of future manuals? If that were true…"

"Marty, relax" Lorraine said, standing up and putting an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sure everything will be fine. "Don't fret until you know for sure that something has happened. No sense in mulling over what ifs."

Marty gave her a wry smile, and sighed again. "I know, I know" he muttered. "That's what I tell myself whenever this happens. But what if it is serious? What if I can't fix it? Then we'll be trapped, both of us! And worst of all, we'd be seventy years apart!" He sank down in the unoccupied couch and sent a glance towards Emmett, who was still blissfully unaware of what was going on. "You heard me read that letter. You heard how much he was counting on me being able to send him back. I… I just can't stand the idea of having let him down. We're not talking about just anybody here, after all. He's my best companion, Lorraine."

"I understand" his young mother replied. "But you shouldn't worry just yet. Save that for later. It's not like you don't have other things to do."

Marty smiled slightly. "I suppose you are correct" he muttered. "Waking Emmett comes first." He stared over to the still unconscious younger version of his friend. "Tell me, what is your opinion – should I empty a glass of water above his face? Granted, the rain didn't appear to help, but I could always try."

Lorraine and George snickered. "I don't think he would like that very much, Marty" George pointed out. "I know I don't like having water poured over me, and that's when I am awake. When I'd be asleep like Mr. Brown, I would despise it."

"I suppose" Marty muttered, shrugging. "I can't think of any other sufficient way to return him to consciousness, though. I think I've tried everything except the drastic methods – water and smelling salts."

"Well, the fact that you're still trying at all sounds kind of pointless to me" Lorraine said. "I know you want to wake him to tell him what happened, but you only need his home as a place to stay, right? You can tell him that tomorrow. Even if you managed to wake him now, it's still time to go to sleep, so he wouldn't be awake for long. Why not wait until the morning when you're both rested and ready to work on whatever you want to work on?"

Marty frowned. It was indeed getting late – according to the clock, it was already 10:50 P.M. "I suppose that you do have a point" he admitted. "It is rather late. Almost time to go to bed under normal circumstances." He frowned. "Won't your parents wonder where you are?"

"They might, I guess" George said.

"My father would probably just complain about it rather than be worried," Lorraine said, darkly, "but yeah, my mom would worry, unless we telephone her." She frowned, looking at the window. "It is still pouring rain outside, though. Walking home in this weather is not a particularly pleasant thought."

Marty nodded, allowing a faint smile to appear on his face. "I see" he said. "And I suppose that you were thinking that maybe you could stay the night here?"

The look on Lorraine's face made it clear that she had, in fact, been thinking that, but she didn't admit it, instead taking the suggestion as if it was an idea that hadn't occurred to her yet. "Well, if you would allow us…"

"No."

Both Lorraine and George were taken aback by Marty's bluntness. Where shy George did not question Marty's motives, Lorraine stood up, clearly angry. "So, you're suggesting that we walk home in the rain and thunder."

"I am" Marty said, his face not showing a hint of emotion. "You were never supposed to be here in the first place. Maybe a critical phase in your relationship will develop in your parents' home. I cannot risk having you stay here and make that event not occur."

"That's just silly, Marty, and you know it" Lorraine replied. She walked up to him. "If anything, won't having us stay here and see, well, the product of our relationship… direct evidence from the future that we're going to marry… help us bond even more?"

"Well, that's hardly certain" Marty replied. "We must proceed as close to the original timeline as possible. My very presence here is a bad thing, but it can't be helped, not now. Your presence here is something that can easily be helped by having you go home right now. I remember from my new set of memories that you always told us that you went back to your house with George and he stayed the night, so it's not like he will have to walk all the way home."

"We'll still have to walk part of the way there" Lorraine said, getting more annoyed with Marty's behavior. "That's not very pleasant, I'm sure of that. And besides, my parents will ask questions if we walked all the way to our home in this weather but we propose that George should just stay the night because of it, while his home is closer to ours than this mansion is."

"You'll just have to explain it to your parents" Marty insisted. "It just can't be helped. The space-time continuum…"

"It's all about the space-time continuum with you, isn't it?" Lorraine exclaimed. "You just don't think about things that other people worry about – no, as long as the universe is safe, you could care less about the rest! You can't do this to us!"

"And just why couldn't I?" Marty challenged her.

"Because we're… we're… we're your _parents_!"

All three of them looked shocked at the sudden reminder. Marty's calm state began to show some cracks. "Not yet" he said. "You might become my parental figures one day, but my conception has not happened yet and as a result I'm not related to you yet."

"Oh no?" Lorraine said, grinning as she now had the satisfaction of seeing Marty backed into a corner, both literally and figurative. "I seem to recall you having concerns about fading away earlier tonight. If we weren't your parents yet, that concern wouldn't be there." She smiled at him, folding her arms. "Just face it, Marty. We're your parents and as a result we have authority over you. I _order _you to let us stay here."

"I'm almost eighteen years old" Marty retorted. "I don't have to obey my parents, especially if they're my age."

"We're still slightly older than you are" Lorraine returned. "And technically, you're minus thirteen." She sighed. "Besides, it won't end well for your younger self if you throw us out now. The living room incident, for instance… well, I might just change my mind about that."

For a moment, Marty just stared at her. Then, he chuckled. "You're smarter than I gave you credit for" he said. "That's cheating, you know."

"I know" Lorraine said, smirking. "What are you going to do about it?"

Marty knew he'd lost. Yet, he tried one more time to convince his young mother. "I can't let you stay" he insisted. "It's Emmett's house. I am in no position to decide about what happens to it and who he wants to stay the night."

"Neither is he" Lorraine pointed out. "He's still unconscious, isn't he?" She looked into his eyes. "Marty, I want you to let us stay here."

"Or else?" Marty challenged her. Perhaps, if it really got down to it, she'd back down from her earlier threat…

She didn't – in fact, she raised a new one. "Or else I'll kiss you again" Lorraine replied, smiling. "In a passionate, romantic way."

Marty frowned, looking past Lorraine to George, who was reading a TV guide. "I'm not sure whether my father would like that very much."

"He doesn't have to dislike it or like it" Lorraine said. "As long as you let us stay, everything is fine and I'm not kissing you."

Marty actually pondered it for a few seconds, but finally caved in. "All right, all right, you can stay the night. But on one guarantee."

"And that is?" Lorraine wanted to know.

"That you're out of here by noon tomorrow and don't come over again unless I ask you" Marty said. "No offence, and it's not like I don't like you two – in fact, I've gained a new appreciation for you during my stay in this time period. But I just don't want you straying off your original course too much. It's bad enough that I have to let Emmett do so."

Lorraine nodded. "I suppose that would be fine" she said. "We can't expect too much of you, I suppose. We'll have to be satisfied with the fact that we will see you again… in about thirteen years."

Marty smirked. "In about thirteen years" he agreed. "And it is a good thing you're here, anyway. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't been there to help me carry Emmett home."

"Knowing your stubbornness, I'm sure you would have found a way" Lorraine replied, smirking. "It might have taken you a while, though. But at least it would have saved you the near heart attack you got when I spoke up to you."

"Hey, I was startled" Marty said, defensively. "It just slipped my mind that you would have been around. Looking back, I should have known that you were there, of course – after all, that's how you found… Great Scott!"

"Great Scott what?" Lorraine said, frowning.

"The letter" Marty whispered, pale. "Great Scott, I can't believe I almost forgot it! You found the letter I'd written to Emmett about his death that he had torn up… long story… scattering around on the streets after the lightning strike, and convinced him to read it. If he doesn't read it, he'll die on the night of the first experiment, creating a massive paradox!"

"Marty, calm down!" Lorraine said. "I'm sure we can solve the matter. Now, what's this about Emmett dying?"

"In order to gain access to fuel for the time vehicle, consisting out of trash, I did a job as a garbage collector, keeping some of the trash" Marty explained. "Unfortunately, around the same time, a microchip was stolen from a government base and hidden in a trash bag. Since I had, uh, borrowed some trash, I was naturally suspect. So, when a bunch of overenthusiastic police officers showed up, we got into an argument and they tried to kill me. Emmett jumped in front of me and got killed instead. Subsequently, I fled with the time vehicle and ended up in 1955."

"That's awful" Lorraine whispered.

"I know" Marty agreed. "Last week, I tried to convince Emmett that I needed to inform him about the future, but he didn't listen. I finally wrote him the letter, but he tore it up and threw it away – that was last night. You found it and convinced him to read it, thus saving Emmett's life. Granted, at the moment that I found out Emmett was alive, I was about to take the time machine back to try to save him anyway, but nevertheless that's an alteration of the continuum. Not to mention the fact that this letter is now out there somewhere." He paced around nervously. "I can't let anyone find it. I must collect it. Right now."

"Marty, please!" Lorraine shouted. "It's pouring rain, and the storm is everywhere! Who says you'll even find the letter?"

"I have to" Marty stubbornly countered. "If someone found it…"

"There's no one mad enough to go out in this weather" Lorraine stated. "And yes, we did, but we're an exception. You needed to get home, Emmett needed to help you, and we knew about the spectacle that was going on and wanted to watch… and besides, it wasn't yet raining then. Perhaps the rain will even soak the letter, rendering it unreadable."

"Perhaps" Marty admitted. "But I still think I should go and search for it. If not now, then tomorrow."

"I don't think there's a problem with that – or at least, I would hope the rain has passed over by tomorrow. But we will help you, Marty, whether you like it or not." Lorraine extended her hand. "Deal?"

Marty sighed, well aware that genius or not, he had no way to convince a stubborn Lorraine Baines. "Deal" he replied, shaking her hand. "But you'd better be a very good help."

"I can't believe I forgot that!" George then exclaimed, disrupting their conversation. Marty looked at his father. "What's the matter?"

"Science Fiction Theater is on" George said, excitedly. "Or at least, it will be in five minutes. I can't believe that slipped my mind!"

"I thought Science Fiction Theater was at an earlier time?" Marty said, walking over to the couch.

"It is, but this is a different broadcast" George explained. "Come on, you have to see this! Especially after you made me miss the earlier program!"

Marty and Lorraine exchanged glances, then nodded. "All right" Marty said. "Let's watch the show."

And so, after crisps and drinks had been gathered from the mansion's kitchen and phone calls were made to explain absence, the McFly family sat down for a good old Saturday evening family bonding time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: Keeping in trend with the recent elections in the United States, I do solemnly swear that I do not nor ever will lay claim to the ownership of the Back to the Future movies.  
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****_Author's Note: It's November, so I'm writing another chapter. (Is there logic in there? There probably isn't. So, I've finished revising (short job) and uploading this chapter today, which contains the events of November 13th, 1955, as Emmett wakes up and gets reacquainted to the task he, George, Marty and Lorraine will have to fulfill over the next days. And besides that, well, there's actually not much to say. If there was, I'd say something, but there isn't, so I'll just conclude with a humble but pressing request to please review. It will be appreciated, and if you ask a question, I'll promise you a response. Perhaps not right away, but there will be a response. Now, I conclude this Author's Note by saying, have fun reading the chapter!  
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_PS: And yes, Lorraine's conversation with Marty at the end about love is very obvious foreshadowing if you know anything about Back to the Future III.  
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**4: Chapter Four**

As morning arrived in the sweet little town of Hill Valley, 1955, all the occupants of the Brown mansion were sound asleep. Emmett was in the same position he'd been in when George and Marty had put him there, lying on the couch with the blanket on him. On the other couch, George was leaning on a pillow they had fetched from upstairs after exhaustion got too much, and was, despite being in a relatively odd position, unconscious as well. Lorraine didn't need a pillow – she was leaning on George's shoulder, and Marty, who was used to sleeping in the strangest positions when involved in a scientific project, had put his head down to rest against Lorraine's shoulder and had loosely swung one of his arms around her for lack of a better place to put it. All in all, it made an adorable sight.

After watching Science Fiction Theater the previous night, the three youths had gone on to watch other programs until they had eventually fallen asleep – without turning the TV off. The machine was now blissfully silent, but that was simply because there was nothing to broadcast. That, however, would not stay that way.

Shortly after the clock chimed 7 in the morning, the television buzzed to life. "Hey kids, do you know what time it is?" an announcer of a kids' program was saying.

"It's howdy doody time!" the kids proudly responded. They then began singing: "It's howdy doody time, it's howdy doody time…"

"This is heavy!" Emmett had woken up from the noise – quite ironically, since he'd slept through the much louder storm that had raged for part of the night – and was looking around in disorientation. "Howdy doody time!" he repeated, unsure what it could mean.

Sitting up, he reached out to turn the television off and frowned. How had he ended up here? The last thing he remembered was sending Marty back to the future through the lightning bolt at the clock tower. He knew the teen had left 1955 and was most likely now in 1985. After that, though, his mind was a complete blank. He couldn't even remember how he got home.

Emmett sighed, worried about himself. Marty hadn't said anything about this happening when he'd talked about watching the temporal experiment with his future self's horse and indeed, the video didn't give any evidence about the future him or Marty having memory loss. Then how could this have occurred?

Wait, now he remembered something. Quite clear, too. He recalled making a little dance after the lightning bolt had struck, then going over to the cables to undo them…

…and he had seen Marty.

Emmett immediately shook his head as he stood up and began to look around. "That's impossible" he told himself, hoping that somehow hearing it would help to convince him. "I just saw Marty go back – how could he be here again? It was probably a vision or something like that. It's absolutely impo-"

He suddenly froze as he looked at his couch. On it were a sleeping George McFly, a sleeping Lorraine Baines – which were uncommon sights on his couch already – and… a sleeping Marty McFly.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Emmett stumbled backwards in terror. What he was seeing was impossible. Marty could not be here! He'd seen him go back to the future with his own eyes! It was an hallucination, it had to be!

He might have been able to convince himself of that if his hallucination hadn't woken up from his screams and looked around, confused. "What was – oh, great" he muttered as he spotted Emmett. "You're up."

"You're not here" Emmett said, more to himself than to Marty. "You're not here. You can't be here."

Marty rolled his eyes and stood up, walking over to his friend. "Yeah, right" he said. "Emmett, calm down, it's just me, okay?"

"It can't be you!" the older man insisted, moving even further back and ending up in front of the piano. Part of him was wondering why he was even arguing with someone he didn't believe in, but it didn't matter at the moment. "I saw you go back! You vanished!"

"I came back, remember?" Marty said. "You fainted. I brought you home. Everything points to me being here. You're just not thinking logically!"

For a moment, Emmett considered just believing him. Then his fear and disbelief rose up to new heights. It was impossible! Hoping that Marty would just go away if he was ignored, Emmett fled into the bathroom and shut the door. He sat down on the ground and closed his eyes. _"He isn't here he isn't here he isn't here he can't be here there is no reason he would come back here…" _

Unfortunately, Marty wasn't working along. He kept talking to Emmett through the door, and despite the horse dealer-to-be desperately trying to close off his ears to the noise, some was still getting through. "Emmett, why can't you just listen to me! I am here, and I'm not going to go away! You can hang out in that bathroom for as long as you physically can, but that won't make me vanish! I'm here!"

"You can't be!" Emmett insisted, though a sense of acceptance was beginning to grow on him. "I saw you vanish, and there's absolutely no reason for you to come back! I could believe you returning to 1955, but to today, to yesterday, to the clock tower?" He shook his head, not caring that Marty wouldn't be able to see it through the door. "It's impossible!"

"It most definitely isn't!" Marty exclaimed. Emmett could hear him sigh. "And I didn't pick this date to go back to – Biff Tannen did!"

"Biff Tannen?" Emmett was horrified. "Why would you let _him_ into your time machine!" If Marty thought _that_ was going to convince the horse dealer that he was real, he was more stupid than people said _he _was.

"I didn't let him in, he stole the vehicle" Marty explained. "He went back in time to make himself rich. Once we found out what happened, we went back here and fixed the mess he made. However, once we retrieved the book that made him rich, you were in the temporal field warping and displacement vehicle when it was struck by lightning and you got transported through time to 1885!"

"1885?" Emmett frowned. It did make some sense. He hesitated for a few moments, then slowly opened the door. Sure enough, Marty was standing there, as solid as ever. "Sorry" he said. "For not realizing you were really here. My brain must have locked up at the information."

"It's all right" Marty said. "You did provide some trouble for us last night by fainting, though. It was a very heavy job to transport you home."

"Us?" Emmett repeated. He looked over at George and Lorraine, who had also woken up by now. The teens both waved shyly. "I suppose there was a reason for taking Mr. McFly and miss Baines along?"

"Please, just say Lorraine" Lorraine said. "You're Marty's friend and Marty's our friend, so I consider you to be at the very least a friendly acquaintance."

"You can call me George" George said. "To me, 'Mr. McFly' is my Dad, really… well, at least he is now, I guess that would be different in the future. But yeah, there was a reason Marty took us along. We were watching the lightning strike the clock tower – Marty had told us about it – and we saw him appear and you faint. Because we were wondering what Marty was doing there again, like you were, and Marty had a hard time waking you up, we decided to come over and help. Once we got done with that, it was too late for us to go home. I hope you don't mind we slept at your house without your permission? You were unconscious, so it wasn't like we could really ask you…"

"It's all right" Emmett ensured him. "You're Marty's parents, and like Lorraine said, I do consider you two to be at least friendly acquin…acquaint…well, you know what I mean." He frowned, and looked at Marty. "There's one thing I don't understand, though."

"And that is?" Marty asked.

"The fact you know my other self went back to 1885. If he went alone and was sent there because of some random lightning bolt and not because he actually decided to go there, wouldn't it be impossible for you to know?"

"In ordinary circumstances, it would be" Marty admitted. "But you had told me about an error with the temporal field defining circuitry before getting hit by that bolt. And my suspicions were confirmed by a Western Union man showing up with a letter moments afterwards." He held it up for the thirty-five-year-old to see.

"A letter?" Emmett frowned and took a look at it. As he began to read the first page, he immediately recognized his own handwriting. Fascinated with reading something he had never written and yet somehow had, he quickly read through all three papers before sighing at the end. "Well, I suppose that I have to help you again, don't I?" he said. "I can't very well leave you outside while you work on the time machine." He frowned, remembering that particular part of the letter. "So, we are going to have to retrieve it from Delgado Mine?"

"Considering that's where your future self buried it, it does sound like the smartest course of action to me" Marty replied. "We shouldn't do that today, though – a few preparations would be convenient."

"Won't that make my older self angry?" Emmett said. "I mean, having to wait for – oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers as it hit him. "He won't have to wait at all, right? You'll just come back for him to September third anyway."

"More like the next day, but yes, that was my intention" Marty said, smirking. "You are beginning to learn thinking fourth-dimensionally. Slowly, but surely."

"Well, thank you" Emmett said, managing a grin. He turned to George and Lorraine. "Would either of you two like to have something to drink? Breakfast, perhaps?"

"Well, if you would be so kind to do that, it would be very nice" George said.

"Would bread with an omelet, and as a drink some chocolate milk be fine?" Emmett said. "I could look for other things if you wanted me to…"

"No, that would be okay" George said. Lorraine nodded.

"Good" Emmett said. "How about you, Marty? Do you want anything?"

"I would probably be fine with the same thing you're offering my parental figures" Marty said. "Even though it has been hours since I last really ate."

"How long, then?" Emmett asked, as he began to head off to the kitchen.

"Let's see" Marty said, sitting down and counting them out to himself. "There were the snacks we had yesterday evening – I hope you don't mind we removed food from your refrigerating unit – but that doesn't count as a full meal. Before that, I had spent eight hours in this time, then roughly seven hours in the alternate version of 1985, and before that, we were in 2015. I ate there, but I think I can safely say that when I fell asleep last night, I hadn't properly eaten for sixteen hours. Luckily, my sleeping track was not much better, so I didn't have much trouble falling asleep."

"Sounds like you went through a rough time" Lorraine said. "I mean, you did tell us before… but I guess that I wasn't paying attention to that particular part of the deal at the time. I was just horrified by the alternate world, and George getting shot."

"Which is kind of strange, because you have known him for a very small amount of time" Marty pointed out. "Well, of course you knew him before that, but you've only really interacted with him this past week, and you fell in love with him less than twelve hours ago. And yet, you were horrified about someone you'd only just become close to being killed."

Lorraine pondered that. "I'll admit it's strange" she said. "Maybe it does mean that somehow, George and I are meant to be."

Marty frowned. "I don't really believe in this 'soul mates' phenomenon. It seems rather unrealistic to me that two people, despite all odds, could end up together, just because 'they are meant to be'. It completely eliminates choice and free will."

"Well, it could happen" Lorraine insisted. "If you fall in love at first sight…"

Marty shook his head. "That's another phenomenon I've never understood. It's just impossible to encounter someone and love them without knowing anything about them."

Lorraine chuckled. "So you're saying you won't ever fall in love at first sight, then?"

"Absolutely not" Marty said, appearing to be amused at the idea. "It's romantic nonsense. There's no scientific rationale for it! Any logical consideration would be thrown away! That is absolutely unrealistic and impossible."

George shook his head. "Marty, I might be a weird guy because of my interest in science fiction, but even I know that it's possible to fall in love at first sight. Not everything is science, you know."

"Right" Lorraine said, smiling at George. "Your father – now that sounds _strange_ – and I ended up together, didn't we?"

"You're taking yourself as an example?" Marty said, shaking his head. "Don't you recall that, just moments after you met my male ancestor once removed, you were willing to replace him as a potential future groom with _your own son_?"

"That's your own fault" Lorraine said. "You should have just told me who you were from the start. I'm sure I wouldn't have gone as far as I did in such a situation. In fact, that would have solved your whole problem right away. Telling us would ensure that we ended up together – did you think we _liked_ the idea of erasing you out of existence?"

"No" Marty said. "But I couldn't have. It was just too dangerous for the space-time continuum – the reason I ended up doing it anyway was that I had no other choice. And the fact that you didn't know doesn't remove the fact that you did fall in love with me. I don't think that was directly connected to whether you knew who I was or not."

"Yeah, right" Lorraine said, rolling her eyes. "This is clearly an exceptional case, Marty. Most people don't get interference from time travelers in their lives." She frowned. "Of course, that is a rather interesting possibility."

"What?" George asked.

"If you're a time traveler, it might as well be that your soul mate lives in another time" Lorraine said. "It does sound like a very nice idea. It's romantic, too."

"And absolutely implausible" Marty said. "I've already told you that…"

"All right, you guys, I think that's about enough" Emmett said, re-entering the room with the chocolate milk. "I know you like to discuss things related to time travel, Marty, but now you're exaggerating. Let's just leave romance out of this and go talk about regular things, okay? Life for you will be complicated enough already in the next few days."

"You're absolutely correct, Emmett" Marty said. "Shall I tell you some more about my adventures in the future, then? I can't tell you everything, of course, but some general information would be fine, I think."

The three of them nodded, and over breakfast, they all listened to Marty's exciting tale about life in the years 1985 and 2015. Emmett had to admit that he felt happy at Marty's return – even though it had been completely unexpected and he had been given quite a scare, he wouldn't have wanted it any other way.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own BTTF et cetera, et cetera. Nor do I own any other movies made in this time period.  
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****_Author's Note: As of December 8th 2012 (or 9th already over here) I'm back with another chapter. This one details Marty and Emmett fetching the DeLorean. I'm not really sure what else I could say about it. Well, nothing except 'please, please, _**please**_ review'. It took me time to write this, you know. Anyway, I hope everyone who reads this will like the chapter. You'd better, or else... (Just kidding there)  
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**5: Chapter Five**

As the day passed, Marty found himself willing to relax his rules about when his parents should leave the house. He had to admit that their presence was very nice, and a friendship of some sorts was rapidly developing between the three of them. In the end, George and Lorraine didn't leave until the sun had already set. They accompanied Emmett and Marty to the stores in Hill Valley and the neighboring towns, where they attempted to find material with which to dig the time machine up and repair whatever problems had occurred – even though Marty admitted that it was better to wait with that until he actually knew what the problem was.

George and Lorraine also helped Marty track down the letter remnants, which, fortunately, were still in the same place. Unfortunately, Emmett all but exploded when he was showed them – and Marty couldn't really blame him, since the horse dealer-to-be had already been worried about them when they'd suddenly gone off to look for the letter. However, after a long conversation, Emmett finally reluctantly agreed to tape the letter together, which Marty insisted he'd do that very evening, after Lorraine and George had left. Emmett was, naturally, horrified at the contents of the papers, and promised to do everything he could to prevent that. Marty subsequently outlined the original sequence of the events at the mall to him, or at least those parts involving him getting shot and the conversation they had about the letter, so Emmett could replicate it as precisely as possible.

That evening, they went to bed at a reasonably sane time – relatively, that is – and as a result, they woke up at a normal time Monday morning. After breakfast, Emmett fetched the car and he and Marty went off to the Delgado Mine.

The mine was an old one, and it had since long been abandoned. In the middle of a graveyard, it wasn't visited very often. Marty remarked that it was very fortunate, because it would allow them to do their work without being interrupted by anyone. Emmett disagreed on that issue – being in a silent place like the mine made him feel a bit uncomfortable.

Even though noise was soon produced, it didn't exactly make Emmett feel comfortable. The reason for that was that the noise was produced by dynamite, not exactly the nicest material to work with. Emmett did indeed groan when he heard the blast at the entrance of the mine. "This is heavy!" he exclaimed. "Marty, you might have woken the dead with that blast!"

Marty frowned. "I doubt noise could cause that" he said. "It has never done any such thing before, and I am sure events happened in history which were much noisier than this. Like the Krakatau eruption."

"Like the what?" Emmett replied, confused.

Marty was more than willing to tell. "The Krakatau eruption. It happened, quite naturally, on the island of Krakatau, in 1883. It's location was in present-day Indonesia, then the Dutch East Indies. Anyway, an immense explosion caused the island itself to be destroyed and fly into the sky in the shape of small rocks. It created the loudest noise ever recorded in human history."

"Ah" Emmett said, not knowing anything better to say. By now, they had walked into the mine, and Marty was looking around in a rather peculiar way. "What are you looking for?" his future friend asked.

"Some kind of hint to where the time machine might be hidden" Marty replied. "I figured your future self might have made some sign, but I can't see anything just yet." He grinned. "You know, this reminds me of the time I tried going to the center of the earth."

"Of what now?" Emmett repeated, unsure whether he heard it well.

"To the center of the earth" Marty confirmed. "Like in Jules Verne's novel, 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'. I had just read it and was obsessed with the idea of travelling to the center of the planet. I entered a cave outside Hill Valley and tried going down from there. However, I hadn't even traversed ten feet yet in depth when I got my leg stuck somewhere. I was lucky somebody found me." He winced. "Of course, this was nothing compared to what I did when reading 'From the Earth to the Moon'. He shut his eyes, remembering the painful events that occurred then. "The principle was sound, but I had put too short a fuse on one of the rockets that should help me get into outer space. Of course, given that I hadn't even turned nine yet at the time, I think one mistake wasn't too bad, but still…"

"Not even _nine_ yet?" Emmett repeated, once again uncertain whether he had really heard it or his ears were deceiving him.

Marty nodded. "Jules Verne and science were my passion" he said, his voice indicating he was lost in nostalgia. "I tried almost every experiment he described. One of the few I didn't do was trying to build the _Nautilus_, from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Kind of odd, because that was and is my favorite book, but I guess that it was just too large a project for me to undertake. Of course, Hill Valley isn't that close to the sea, so that might have contributed, too."

"You must have driven your parents crazy" Emmett remarked.

"You have no idea" Marty said, a smile on his face. "You can't imagine how crazy they went when a well-meaning uncle and aunt gave me a chemic kit as a birthday present when I turned nine. They were probably thinking I'd use it to burn down the house. Wasn't that far from what really happened – I did make a hole in the living room floor. My parents were furious, and told me to go find some other place to experiment on. In the new timeline, they weren't that mad, but the message was the same. And so I did…" He looked up at Emmett. "And that's how I met you."

"Really?" Emmett said, intrigued at hearing information about something like this. He hadn't been expecting Marty to come through with the information, especially considering the teen's usual paranoia about future knowledge.

Marty nodded, apparently being too lost in nostalgia to remember that he really shouldn't tell. "I was depressed by the fact that my parents had forbidden me to experiment in the house. Not being able to test any theories I had drove me mad. I was really into building inventions back then. I still am now, but it's nothing compared to the initial madness." He sighed. "The fact that I couldn't do what I wanted did something that had never happened to me before – I lost my confidence. For the first time in my life, I just let down my usual self-confident mood, and gave the opening bullies needed to tease me and kick me around." He looked over at Emmett. "You can imagine my younger counterpart did not like that."

"I certainly can" Emmett said, wincing as he remembered being bullied as a youth.

"Unfortunately, I tried solving it the exact same way my father did – just caving in" Marty said. "However, events rapidly got worse and worse and at one moment, they just crossed a line with me. That was in August 1977, almost two months after my chemic kit experiment. They wanted me to scare your horses so that they'd panic and run away. At that point, you and I had already met once before. You had helped me in the supermarket when I dropped some items my maternal ancestor once removed wanted me to fetch by picking them up again. No friendship had come of it, but I knew who you were and knew you were a nice guy. I didn't want to ruin your life's work – or at least a very important part of your life – and refused. As a result, the bullies locked me up in your garage."

"How did you get out?" Emmett asked, intrigued by the tale.

"The next morning, you found me" Marty said. "My parents had informed you of what happened after they had found out through the parents of the bullies. One of them was Cliff Tannen, Biff's son, and given that Biff was my father's boss, he didn't care too much about what had happened. But the other parents did, or at least they didn't want my mom to put them on trial. They got their kids to confess, and you were informed. When you found me, all worried, I had been working on some invention after seeing the possibilities of your garage. You cleaned me and fed me, and offered me the use of your garage. I was desperate for experimenting space, so I accepted, and that was the start of our friendship."

"It's a fascinating story" Emmett said. "I'm looking forward to it happening."

Marty gasped, and smacked his forehead. "How could I forget! This hasn't happened to you yet. I should've thought of that before. Well, at least I told you the story of what happened before I went back in time. If it was after, it would have been much worse… although there are no real major differences."

"I suppose" Emmett muttered. "Did you tell this all to my older self as well?"

"Well, you lived through our first encounter, of course" Marty said. "But yes, the information about my love for Jules Verne was one of the first things I gave you. I never convinced you to read more than a few of his books, but you've been complaining regularly that I told you so much, you can name every detail from the novels as good as I can." He chuckled. "I think you were a bit overreacting with that."

"I suppose so" Emmett said, smirking – then frowning as he noticed something. "Hey, aren't we supposed to be finding something already? We're getting pretty deep in."

"I thought so too" Marty admitted. "You might have hidden the time machine deep, but I would have expected some evidence. You're not the sharpest slitting tool in the dresser component to put food eating material in, but I would have thought that it was rather clear that we weren't going to find the way to the time machine on our own."

Emmett didn't know whether to feel insulted or not, so he just nodded and continued his search. Moments later, his helmet's lamp did shine on something very peculiar. It was just some ordinary wood, but it appeared like letters were on it – the letters E, L and B! "Marty?" he called out. "I think you might want to see this."

Marty came over and was thrilled when he realized what it was. "Your initials!" he exclaimed. "Just like in 'Journey to the Center of the Earth'! That means the temporal field warping and displacement machine must be right through this wall!"

"Looks like you really did tell the story to my older self one time too many, didn't you?" Emmett said, smirking.

"I suppose so" Marty admitted. "Great Scott… let's fetch the shoves, Emmett! We've got some work to do!"

oooooooo

As it turned out, it was indeed quite some work to break through the wall that was made up of rocks and wood and carefully shielded the time machine from sight. After roughly ten minutes of hard work, though, Marty thought he could spot something through one of the holes between the stones. A few minutes later, it was widened enough so that one could step through it. As Marty did so, he was faced with one of the most amazing things he would ever see.

It was his time machine, the car he had converted into a time machine with his own hands – but it was much, much older. Everything about the truck told that it had been sitting in here for the seventy years it had. The tires were almost gone, and dust was sitting everywhere. As Marty tried to open the door, he found that it wouldn't budge. Annoyed, he pulled again, but only at the third try did the car gave way – and Marty found himself holding not just the door handle, but the entire door. "Great Scott!" he whispered, as he put the door down and climbed inside.

Despite its age, the car was recognizable. The flux capacitor was still fluxing, and many of the internal components didn't appear to have sustained any major damage. The seats were still okay as well, but Marty supposed that in order to be really comfortable again, he'd have some work to do. He considered trying the engine, but a look at the gas meter told him enough – it was empty. The teenager then reached out to the switch to put on the time circuits. After a brief hesitation, he pulled it over.

The time circuits came to life, and once again, Marty had to gawk. This time, though, it wasn't from how old they looked, but from the fact that they were in fact still in working order. However, the Destination Time still read January 1st 1885, and as Marty tried typing in a date, the circuitry didn't change. The teen wondered whether that was a result of the long time the car had spent in the mine, or whether this had been the damage which had trapped Emmett in the past. That was a possibility, after all. Even with 1955 technology, the time circuits would be hard to repair, and if the destination time was stuck on January 1st 1885, you couldn't travel anywhere but to that date.

"Hey, Marty?" Emmett's voice came into the truck, sounding a bit impatient. "Are you still there? What can you see?" There was a brief pause. "Is the car over there?"

Well, there was one way to answer those questions very easily, and Marty smirked as he thought of it. After giving the steering wheel a brief inspection, he activated the car horn.

It worked, and the result was a brief scream, and moments after that, Emmett came climbing through the hole, angered. "Marty, do you know how much you scared me… you found it! You really did!"

"I did" Marty said, opening the other door, this time being careful that it would not break off, and getting out. "It looks like it's in relatively good shape, with the exceptions being that there is no gas in the tank, the time circuits are malfunctioning – I think that might be the error that kept you stuck – and, well, that car door." He pointed at the item.

Emmett nodded. "I see" he muttered. "So, what do you want to do with it – the car, I mean? Take it out of here and to the garage so you can fix it?"

"That would be what I was planning" Marty said. "That's why we brought that tow truck here, isn't it?"

Emmett nodded. "Come on, let's open the hole some more so the car can get through."

Marty agreed, and walked along with his friend to the entrance/exit of the small side tunnel the car was in. He did give it one more glance, though. Somehow, finding the truck was enough to convince him that he was going to rescue older Emmett.

"_You just wait and see, Emmett," _Marty thought, even though he knew it was pointless as Emmett wouldn't hear it, not now nor in 1885. _"I'll be there before you know it." _


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: Future the to Back own not do I. I think you get what I mean by that. **

_Author's_ _Note:_ All right, some time in the past (it may have been up to three weeks ago) I received a nice review on this story and resolved to resume updating. The recipient (I really hope I spelled that word right, but I can't be sure without checking) of the message was happy, I was happy, and yet nothing happened for three weeks and I'm mostly just updating to satisfy my conscience. There are, of course, reasons, as I've been kind of busy the last weeks, and when I'm not busy I'm lazy. And that's why it's possible that it is now April of 2013, and after over a year, I still haven't finished this story - I haven't even left 1955 yet.

Of course, another significant reason is that Bttf 4444, my most loyal reviewer, suddenly stopped reviewing halfway through last year. While I'd like to emphasize that this fact wasn't responsible for the original lack of updates, a trend which had set in long before then, it certainly discouraged me from posting any new chapters - after all, what was the use if no one would review them? I think that reading the nice review I got (I believe it was from someone called MartyMcBean, but I may have spelled that wrong as well) reminded me that A - there were other reviewers than Bttf 4444, and B - you can still post stories if no one will review them, as so many other people do. And thus, I did. And again, I'll be honest and say that I've got no clue when the next chapter will come, and it may be that this new perspective on the story changes nothing and it will still take weeks. But I'll try to change my mentality and update more often, okay? After all, if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything.

EmmettMcFly55, Friday April 5th 2013, 12:09 AM Central European Timezone.

**6: Chapter Six**

That afternoon, the car was towed out of the mine where it had rested in for over seventy years. Strangely, the vehicle looked even older in daylight. Marty shook his head. "Simply fascinating" he muttered. "Just imagine, Emmett. This machine is seventy years old, and yet I, a seventeen-year-old, made it. Well, not the vehicle, of course, but the temporal circuitry and the flux capacitor – and the car _is_ from the future. It's incredibly intriguing, when you think about it."

"Tell me about it" Emmett said. "What's that paper you're holding?"

Marty gave it a look, as if only now noticing that he was holding something at all. "What?" he asked. "Oh, this! It's something I found in the car. Looks like it is some advice from your older self on what could be wrong with the time machine."

"My advice?" Emmett repeated, frowning. "I thought my older self was nowhere near as skilled in science as you are. I definitely am not, so…"

"It's not technical advice – he's just telling me some things about what he observed" Marty explained. "It says: 'As you can see, this is the place where I hid the time machine. I couldn't get it to time travel anymore, because the destination time readout of the time circuits' – the temporal field defining circuits, he means – 'won't show any other date than January 1st, 1885'. Told you so. 'The flying circuits are broken, too.'" The teenager looked up. "Hmm, that is going to cause some problems."

"Why is – did you just say 'flying circuits' now?" Emmett said.

"Yes, I did" Marty said. "I told you about the hover-conversion I did in 2015, didn't I?"

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, but I forgot about it" he confessed. "It sounds amazing. An actual flying car. And it's not even just a car, it's a time machine. Too bad it doesn't work anymore – I would have loved to see the machine in flight." He frowned. "But why is that going to cause any problems? It's too bad that the car won't fly anymore, but it shouldn't be a serious problem. Regular cars don't fly, and they're doing fine."

"Regular cars don't have to drive in 1885" Marty reminded him. "The terrain will be rocky and horrible to drive on. And worst of all, the removal of the hover-conversion makes it possible for me to crash into something the sonic booms can't remove." He sighed. "And I was just thinking going to the Old West would make that _easier_. It's not like there were any planes around in that time period, and for birds, no matter how big, the sonic booms are more than enough."

Emmett frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"If you go back in time, you can't know what you're encountering on the other side" Marty explained. "There might be an object already in the space you want to occupy. For instance: if I was to go fifty years into the future from here, and there would be, say, another car already in this spot for some reason, the time vehicle and I would materialize inside that car. I am sure you can imagine that something like that would be… unpleasant."

"I can" Emmett said, trying to imagine the scene and agreeing that it didn't sound good. "What does this have to do with the flying circuits, though?"

"Well, I installed the sonic booms effect to alert any small creatures of my impending presence and remove them, but for things like large rocks, that is unfortunately impossible" Marty said. "Therefore, I found the flying circuits an amazingly convenient addition to the time machine. It enables me to get into the air, and thus out of the way of most of the objects I could encounter." He sighed. "Now, however…"

"I see" Emmett said, wincing. "Was that all my older self wrote?"

Marty checked the paper. "About it, yes. He didn't have too much advice for me about where to go for tools to fix the machine, but you and I already figured that out by ourselves, so it's not important. I'd also trust your judgment about what hardware shops I could buy tools at better than your future self's, because you'd naturally have forgotten much about a period that would be thirty years ago to you, and especially about stores you rarely frequent."

"Right" Emmett agreed. "Well, we should be going now, shouldn't we?"

"Yes, I suppose so" Marty said. "We're endangering ourselves enough by exposing the time vehicle to curious viewers. There's just one more thing I wanted to check, though."

"What would that be, then?" Emmett asked.

Marty shrugged. "Nothing major. It's just that… well, I thought I saw something peculiar out there when we went up to the mine, and I wanted to check what it was. I'm not sure what it was, but it looked like your name was on a tombstone."

Emmett winced. "I see" he muttered, pained. "Though I guess it would be unavoidable that I'd be dead, after so many years."

"It would be" Marty said. "You would be 135, an age that is pretty much impossible to reach without future rejuvenation technology. I just wanted to have a brief look at the tombstones, though. If the one I saw was yours, or it wasn't but yours is in there anyway… well, it would be natural, of course, but I can't help but be curious at the thought. I just can't go back to 1885 before having had a look at it. I hope you understand."

"I think I do" Emmett said. "Be back soon, okay?"

"I will." Marty walked away from the truck and through the graveyard, looking at the various tombstones and realizing they were mostly Nineteenth Century deaths. "Well, that makes it more plausible for Emmett to be in here" he muttered to himself.

After roughly thirty seconds, he came across the tombstone he was looking for, and found out that it confirmed his earlier thoughts. In neat block letters the tombstone's inscription read: 'Here Lies Emmett Brown. Died September 7th, 1885. Shot in the back by Buford Tannen over a matter of eighty dollars.'

The teen read it normally, then blinked, read it again, focused on the date, and gasped. "Emmett! Come! Quick!"

"What's the matter?" the thirty-five-year-old asked, coming over. "Oh!"

"It says 'September 7th, 1885'" Marty muttered. "September 7th! That's only four days after you wrote your letter to me!"

"That doesn't sound like a very good future" Emmett had to admit.

"It will not be the future, Emmett" Marty said, patting his friend on the back. "Not that it is now, given that it occurred in the past, but…" He sighed. "I'm going back there to fetch you, remember? Don't worry about it. Everything will be fine."

Emmett sighed. "I suppose."

That statement was not very hopeful. But Marty had to admit it – when put into these situations, he couldn't blame his friend for not feeling much hope. "Why don't you go fetch your photographing device?" he asked.

Emmett frowned. "For what purpose should I do that?"

"If I have a photograph of this spot in 1955 and take it along to 1885, it will change like the photograph of my siblings will" Marty explained. "That way, I can see if your future self's death will be prevented."

Emmett frowned again. "But I thought you were going home straight away?" he asked. "That sounds like a waste of time."

"I know, and that's what I am planning to do" Marty said. "But I have to admit that the bad luck I've had during the past adventures makes me inclined to take precautions which might not be necessary, but could be convenient if the need arises. With the fact taken into consideration that you originally ended up deceased so soon after my intended destination, that need for precautions becomes all the more acute."

Emmett nodded. "You're the Doc, Marty."

"Not yet" Marty replied. And as Emmett walked off to fetch the camera, he barely suppressed a sigh as he once again looked at his friend's tombstone. He tried to be optimistic, reminding himself that he would go back to fetch Emmett and they'd return home right away, but his mood was ruined and his thoughts about the prospects for success bleak. Somewhere, he knew this was not going to be easy.

oooooooo

"Now, isn't this fitting!"

Marty McFly chuckled as he heard his friend say those words. "Yes, I have to admit it is" he replied. "I still don't entirely agree with taking time off from work on the time vehicle to visit this festival, though. Sure, it is nice to get some introduction to the world in the year 1885, but I'm only going to be there for a very short time. I'll just pick you up and be gone again."

"That's what you think" Emmett said, unfortunately echoing the negative thoughts Marty had been trying to suppress since that afternoon. "You should know by now that it isn't the case. How many of those time travelling adventures have you already gone on that turned out to be longer than expected?"

"Many" Marty confessed. "Even this journey is part of the 'short visit' to 2015 – going to that horrible world Biff made of 1985 doesn't really count as returning home." He sighed. "All right, perhaps I could need some information about the world of the past era I'm going to. It was, after all, a rather rough time – it's better to come prepared."

"Precisely" Emmett muttered. "So, anything you have in mind that you want to do?"

Marty looked around. They were at the festival the town had organized to fund repairs to the recently stopped clock – and as the teen knew the clock was still stuck in 1985 and 2015, he guessed the funds raised hadn't been enough, or something else had come up to prevent the clock from being repaired. The festival was set in an 1880s style, because that had been the decade the clock was started, and considering it was also the decade Marty was going to, it couldn't have been more fitting indeed.

"Not really" he admitted. "I suppose I could take a walk towards the other end of the square, have a look around. These certainly appear to be very interesting festivities." He blinked, as he recognized some familiar people in the distance. "Oh great."

"What's it – wait, don't tell me" Emmett said. "It's your parents again, right?" They looked into the direction of the two teenagers, who were standing near the stand of Lou's Café on the festival grounds. "I like them for sure, but you are right in thinking that we see them a little too much."

"Yes" Marty agreed. "Considering alterations to history and all…" He shrugged. "The space-time continuum does appear to have some kind of self-preservation effect in force, considering the world was barely changed when I went back to the future, but we shouldn't risk too much. With that in mind, I should _really_ go for a walk now. Give myself some time for internal contemplation." He began to walk off and held his hand up as a greeting to Emmett. "See you again at some point that has yet to come on this evening."

"Yeah, see you later too" Emmett agreed, grinning. Marty smiled back before turning around and simply paying attention to the festival – or at least, making it look like he was paying attention to the festival, because in reality, his brain had chosen this moment to send him off in thoughts again.

As he had told Emmett, he had now been on a continuous journey through time for quite some time now. Although he had spent relatively little time in 2015 and the alternate 1985 when he had been there with 1980s Emmett, he'd been in 2015 and other future periods for a long time before that and though he had returned home for a short while in-between his travels, that had been only for a short period before leaving again for another time. It was therefore, in Marty's mind at least, justifiable to rank all his travels since inventing the time vehicle as one huge journey through the space time continuum – which meant that all in all, he'd now been travelling through time for over five weeks. Or, if counted in the time which had passed in Hill Valley 1985, little over a day.

Marty didn't know what he should feel about it. It was certainly quite a change for him, a person who had always preferred staying at home over going out because at home, he could experiment some more. Being away from the lab for so long was certainly strange, and with all the strange, different and especially difficult tasks he'd had to accomplish (staying away from his overly romantic mother, getting his parents to fall in love, retrieving Emmett's wallet, getting the sports book back from Biff, and now going to 1885 to rescue his best friend) he had to admit that staying at home where it was nice and quiet was preferable. However, there were a lot of interesting things around in the past, so Marty had to admit that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to go home right away. After all, he was already considering new adventures in the future after returning Emmett home, and his mind was beginning to add other interesting prospects for adventures to that.

The teen then looked around, and noticed he was moving away from the crowds. He didn't mind, though. Crowds were never his specialty. Though his social skills were better than his teenage Dad's, he still didn't like being around sizeable amounts of people. Taking a final look at the Square, Marty began to wander off into an alleyway to find some place to quietly think, figuring that he could be back in a minute if he had to.

As he was walking into the alleyway, the same one the truck had landed in upon it's arrival in 2015, Marty got the strange feeling that he was being watched. He frowned, and attempted to shake it off. Feelings like this were often irrational, and if anything, Marty was a very rational person.

However, as he reached the end of the alleyway and turned around, he could clearly see that he had indeed been watched. At the other side of the alley, blocking any way to get out besides a probably closed door of a building besides him, he could now see five men standing there.

For a moment, they just stood there, staring at each other. Then, the men approached and Marty could see their faces. The right one was Biff Tannen – there was no doubt about that. Three of the others were members of Biff's gang and seemed to be the most reluctant at this whole situation. The fifth, though, was familiar. Very familiar. "Needles?"

'Needles' frowned. "You know my name, Eastwood?" he said. "I don't believe we had the pleasure of meeting yet."

"He's probably heard it from his friend McFly, Ted" Biff said, speaking the words 'friend' and 'McFly' with disgust.

Marty now realized who this man had to be. "Ted Needles?" he whispered, too soft for the others to hear. He had heard about Ted Needles. Ted was two years older than Biff, and the father of Douglas Needles, Marty's most annoying classmate. Though Douglas Needles was a nuisance, Ted Needles was worse – he reminded the teen of Biff before his previous visit to 1955. Back home, Marty had only once come face to face with the man, and if not for Emmett intervening, the encounter would not have ended well.

"I heard about what you did to Biff, Mr. Eastwood" Ted said, saying the last word dripping with sarcasm. "Ordinarily, I wouldn't have minded too much. But teaching idiots like George McFly to stand up for themselves!" He stared at Marty. "That is one thing I can _not _tolerate."

"May I ask why not?" Marty said, staring at Ted. He knew he shouldn't even be arguing with this guy, but also knew that becoming angry or attempting to flee wouldn't help him much. Not right now, with no place to flee to.

"Because some people might get the wrong ideas" Ted replied. "They might think they can stand up to me too." He shook his head. "You know, before you came along, Biff and I just had kids we could easily bully. Now, you've convinced George McFly to stand up for himself, and the news is spreading fast. Too fast." He stared intensely at the smaller teen. "Perhaps when they hear that _you_ couldn'tstand up to us, they'll learn it's all nonsense."

Marty stared back. "And what are you planning to do?"

"This" Biff said, as he reached out and delivered Marty a kick into his stomach.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: If only I owned this movie... then again, imagine the responsibility that would come with it. What if people didn't like me owning Back to the Future, what if they said I was no good? I'm just not sure if I could take that kind of a rejection.**

_As I mentioned in my Author's Note for IBBIT, this chapter is long overdue. That's why I'm uploading two. I still hope you'll like it anyway. It is about... well, what happens after the previous chapter. Emmett meeting with George and Lorraine, them finding Marty, and seeing what happened to him. Now I will probably get a collective groan because this delays the climax even further, but it is necessary for the story. Well, here you go, and please review.  
><em>

**7: Chapter Seven**

Leaning against the bar of Lou's Café's stand, Emmett Brown felt oddly relieved. He liked Marty, but that didn't mean he wanted to have him around all the time. It had been nine days since Marty and he first met up, and the teenager had dominated his life ever since. Even though he had been supposed to leave on Saturday, the seventeen-year-old had returned here to 1955 and had brought a new problem with him, and it was getting on his nerves somewhat. The older man smiled. Yes, a little time off was nice as well.

It was of course rather ironic that he'd feel something like this. After all, he'd been longing for a friend for years. He supposed that friendship was like just about everything else – it was nice at the start, but if you spent too much time with your friends, you would get bored and would want to do something else, even if it was just for a short time. He had no intentions of abandoning the teen, because he liked him and would feel guilty – after all, with the exceptions of his parents and their families, there was no one else Marty could turn to. However, right now, he was happy being alone.

And Marty had allowed him to enjoy this for quite some time now, he noticed as he absentmindedly took a French fry out of the plastic try with fries he'd just bought. It had been almost twenty minutes since his friend had left. Emmett grinned, as he figured Marty had probably wished for the same thing he had, a little time off, but had, like he had, never come around to asking for it. But it hadn't mattered in the end, because now they were both getting what they wanted – rest.

"Mister Brown!"

Or at least, he _had_ been getting rest. Emmett looked up to see George and Lorraine had at last noticed him, and once again shook his head as he couldn't help but marvel at how his world and his position had changed. From the relatively lonely man which he had been two weeks ago, he now had a friend who lived in the future and whom he was going to meet one day, and two acquaintances which were rapidly developing into friendships as well. George and Lorraine were nice people, and they didn't think he was snobbish because of his wealth, or look down on him because of his low intelligence. There weren't many people who fully understood his feelings, but George did, since the teen had been picked on himself until very recently, until the night of the big dance which would, as they now knew from Marty, change his life for good – and for the better.

Emmett looked up at the youths, who took a seat next to him. "I told you to call me 'Emmett' like Marty does" he gently reminded them, giving a nervous glance towards the waiter before adding, softly: "It'd be strange to have your son call me Emmett, while you address me as 'Mr. Brown'.

Lorraine chuckled. "All right… Emmett" she said. "So, how are you doing? Taking some time off from working on the time machine?"

Emmett nodded. "Yeah, we are" he said. "It surprised me, but apparently, Marty _does _understand that you can't work at one project all the time." He then winced before adding: "It doesn't help that we've kind of gotten a second task to work on, too." He told them about what they had found in the cemetery.

Both teens were appalled. "That's… awful" George whispered. "I mean…I suppose it makes sense that you're dead, given that you would be a full century older than you are now if you had lived until 1955, but… so soon…"

"That's the same thing Marty and I thought" Emmett said, sighing as he looked down. "At least it's going to be corrected. Marty was going to go back to fetch me anyway, and he told me he's certainly going to do so now."

"Yeah, I can understand that" Lorraine said. "Where is Marty, anyway? I would've thought he'd be here as well. Sure, occasions like this aren't really his favorite activity, but I don't think it would be right if he forced himself to stay at home and work while you went out. Not that you don't deserve rest regardless what Marty does, but…"

"No, I get what you mean" Emmett agreed. "I wouldn't have wanted that, either. And Marty is here – but I'm not sure where at the moment. He went away twenty minutes ago, and he hasn't returned since." He frowned. "Initially, I was okay with it, as I thought we both needed some time off – and we do. But now…"

"You don't think anything has happened to him, do you?" George asked, nervously. Despite punching Biff out, part of him was still his old, unconfident self, and that self would take over in times like this. "It is getting dark out here, and you don't know what – or who – all lurks around at night."

"I'm sure nothing has happened" Emmett said, confidently. "He's probably just lost track of the time."

"Marty losing track of time?" Lorraine said, chuckling nervously. "I might not know him all too well, but that sounds very much out of character to him. He's as punctual as a watch. The one time I've known him so far that he was a little late was on our date on Saturday… and well, I don't think I could have blamed him then."

"Yeah, I suppose not" Emmett said. Although he didn't like talking about what could have happened to make Marty be late, this was not a very nice subject either for either of them. Returning to the subject at hand, he frowned. "Do you think I should go look for him?"

"You could" Lorraine said. "Did he say he was going to stay away for some time, or was he just going off for a very brief walk?"

Emmett tried to recall what exactly had happened when he'd last seen Marty. "No…" he replied. "He said he was going to look what was all around here. I didn't hear anything more, because he left in a hurry."

"Why was that?" George wanted to know.

Emmett blushed, a bit embarrassed. "Because you had shown up" he muttered, softly.

Lorraine blinked. "What did we do?" she asked. Suddenly blushing, she added: "Or was it… because, you know…Saturday?"

Emmett understood perfectly well what she meant. "No, it wasn't related to the crush you had on him at all" he assured her, speaking aloud what she hadn't dared to say. "He was just a little tired of interacting with both of you all the time. I hope that doesn't offend you, but…"

"I understand" George said. "I was wondering about that too, since we were talking a lot with him. I could see him needing some privacy… of course, Lorraine just took any chance she could get to see him."

Lorraine blushed again, fiercer this time. "I _don't_ have a crush on him" she pointed out. "Not anymore, now that I'm aware of who he really is. I _like_ Marty a lot, but I'm not in love with him. You are my boyfriend – I am just interested in interacting with our future son." She frowned. "You could have just said 'no', if you didn't want to go here. You didn't have to come along."

"You happen to be a very persuasive person" George said. "I don't stand a chance of standing up to you if you want something."

"You're just a person who's easily persuaded" Lorraine said. "Plus, I don't think you minded that much. I thought you loved science fiction concepts like time travel."

Now it was George's time to blush. "Yeah, I suppose so – although I prefer aliens." He frowned. "But now we've been talking about Marty for quite a while, and he still hasn't shown up. We can talk all we want, but isn't finding him more important?"

"You're right, George" Emmett said. "I am beginning to get concerned now. It's been over twenty minutes since I last saw him." He frowned. "Do you two think we should go look for him?"

"We could" Lorraine said. "Which way did he go?"

Emmett frowned. "I recall seeing him walk off in that direction" he said, pointing to the west. "I'm not sure where he went afterwards, as I was mostly concentrating on other things, but it's a start."

"It is" George agreed. "Should we ask people whether they have seen where he's gone?"

"No, we'd better save that for later" Emmett said, finishing eating the last of his fries and dumping the try in the trash can. "You know how Marty gets angry when I even suggest something that involves altering history."

The teenagers rolled their eyes, understanding. "Yeah, sometimes, Marty appears to be acting like he's our Dad rather than the other way around" George said, chuckling. "So, just look around then?"

"That sounds like a smarter option for now" Emmett said, as he began to walk off. George and Lorraine followed him. "We don't want to find him only to have him be angry with us. For all we know, the reason he's missing is very unimportant – though considering Marty wanted to get out of this era as soon as he could, I have the feeling he wouldn't stay away for something minor for so long."

"Well, he could have found someone who shares his interest in science, or something related to it" Lorraine pointed out. "He is really obsessed with inventing, after all."

Emmett nodded. "True" he said. "Just this morning, he told me how he used to be worse." He paused, before remembering to add a correction: "Well, used to be in a fourth-dementional sense."

"Dimensional" Lorraine gently reminded him.

"That, yeah" Emmett said. "He told me about how shortly after we met in the 1970s, he used to do things related to science all the time, when he was only a kid. It sounded very strange to me, but also something that fit in perfectly with what I know of Marty so far."

George and Lorraine nodded, but neither replied. Emmett could understand them – he was getting worried about Marty too. Neither said a word as they continued scanning the terrain, looking for a sign of their friend.

After a few minutes, however, it had become clear that Marty was not around. Though the area was quite crowded, they should still be able to find the seventeen-year-old somewhere if he was still around. The fact that they couldn't made Emmett's greatest fears about Marty's fate jump back to the surface. _"What if he's lost? Or kidnapped? What if he got into an accident?" _

Trying to shake the likely irrational fears off, like Marty would do, Emmett looked at his companions. "So, where do we look next?" he asked.

"I don't know" George admitted. "I just thought Marty might have gone home, but thinking of it some more, that doesn't sound like a thing he'd do. Not without informing you first."

"Yeah, it sounds quite strange to me too" Emmett admitted. "I know Marty's social skills aren't too great, but neither are mine, and I would definitely tell him if I had a sudden desire to go home." He frowned, pondering the thought. "Then again… one has to admit, Marty _is _quite eccentric…"

"Excuse me, Mr. Brown" a voice then interrupted. As Emmett turned around, he could see the voice belonged to a woman his age, wearing a badge of the Hill Valley Historical Society. "Did I understand it correctly that your nephew's missing?"

"'Missing' would be about right, ma'am" Emmett responded. "Why?"

"Well, I've seen him" the woman said. "Not recently, but half an hour ago or so. He was walking towards that alley over there." She pointed at an alleyway which was concealed between large buildings. "I didn't pay any more attention afterwards, so I'm not sure where he went from there."

"Well, at least it's a start" Emmett said. "Thank you, miss."

"You're welcome." The woman walked off, and Lorraine frowned. "Do you really think he's still in that alleyway?" she said. "I don't know, it sounds a little weird for Marty to stay in an empty alleyway for so long. Then again, as we've just established, Marty is weird, so…" She shrugged. "Should we check it out?"

"I suppose so" Emmett said. "It's the only clue we've got, so I'll just take a quick look around, see what we can find. I really doubt Marty is still in there, but perhaps there is some evidence to where he's gone…"

"Evidence we can't see in the dark" George pointed out.

"We'll see that when we'll come to it" Emmett said, smiling. "Let's see what the alleyway holds. If it's nothing – well, we can worry about that problem later."

However, they didn't have to worry about that at all. Moments after they entered the small alley, Emmett saw someone was lying down at the end. Though he couldn't see anything of the person's face yet, the thirty-five-year-old immediately knew who it was.

As he rushed towards his friend, Emmett was horrified to discover that Marty's condition was terrible. The teen was unconscious and had bruises and cuts all over him. His shirt was ripped apart and the remnants hung loosely on him. His more solid pants had survived, but Emmett could see one of Marty's shoes was off his feet, instead located near his head, which gave him a pretty good indication what it had been taken off for. As the horse dealer-to-be took a good look at Marty's head, he could see that his friend was bleeding.

It was just too much for him to take. In panic, he held Marty's face and shook it. "Marty?" he pleaded. "Marty? Answer me!"

George and Lorraine, who appeared on the scene a moment later, were as horrified as he was. "W…what happened here!" the latter exclaimed, her face pale.

"I don't know!" Emmett shouted back, desperate, before turning back to the poor victim. "Marty?"

This time, Marty's eyes fluttered open. "E… Emmett?" the teen muttered.

A general feeling of relief went through the thirty-five-year-old. "Yeah" he replied. "Marty, what happened?"

"Biff Tannen…" Marty mumbled. "And… Needles' father…hit me…"

"You can say they hit you!" George exclaimed. He looked at Emmett. "We have to get him to a doctor."

"No!" Marty muttered. "No… doctor. It is… too… dangerous…space-time continuum…"

The trio around him exchanged glances. "Really Marty, only you would be stubborn enough to not let a doctor come when you're hurt just because you're worried about the space-time continuum" Lorraine said. "We have to call someone to check on you."

Marty tried to protest, but before he could say anything more than just a few inaudible mutters, his eyes shut again. "He's asleep" Emmett reported. "We'd better get him home. Lorraine, could you call a doctor, ask him to come over to my place as soon as he can? You can go over to Lou's Café – I think it's still open – and use the payphone there." He reached into his pocket. "I can't find my wallet at the moment, but I know I've got it on me…"

"Never mind" Lorraine said. "Marty's my friend too, and I'll gladly pay ten times the price if it fetches a doctor for him." She rushed off, leaving Emmett and George with the wounded teenager.

As they then picked Marty up and carried the limp weight towards Emmett's car – which was fortunately parked nearby – the horse dealer-to-be couldn't help but sigh. Marty's second time in 1955 was going to turn out very different from the way the teen had anticipated it would, he was sure of that.

oooooooo

As usual, that night became a hectic night. Tonight, however, the reason was different from the previous times. This time, Marty was actually wounded, and the hectic part of the deal was that a doctor had to come over and see what was wrong with the teen. Though the situation was not life-threatening, something which greatly relieved Emmett, it wasn't very nice either.

"He's hurt severely" the doctor concluded. "He's got a minor concussion and I think he nearly broke his arm there – as it is, it's just severely bruised. I'll put some bandages on it after he wakes up, just to be sure that it's on the right place… I think he will be able to tell me more about just how much and where it hurts when he comes to. And there's all those bruises all over him… it's nowhere near life-threatening, just some minor injuries, but all of them put together are going to be a nuisance to him for a long time. He'll have to rest."

Emmett sighed, looking at the unconscious teen. "I suppose so" he muttered. "He won't be happy with that."

Dr. Pentinson smiled. "I thought as much" he said. "From what you've told me, your nephew sounds like an active young boy. He's from out of town, right?"

The thirty-five-year-old winced. The origin of his young friend was one thing he could not explain, so he had to think up something, and think it up fast. "Um, yes" he said. "From… New Jersey. His mother sent him over for a vacation of some sorts… she won't like how it turned out."

"I'm sure she won't" the doctor said. "Is she your sister?"

"Yes" Emmett lied.

Dr. Pentinson frowned. "Pardon me if I'm wrong, Mr. Brown, but I seem to recall that you're an only child."

Emmett winced again. This was one of the reasons he hated lying – he knew he couldn't stick to a story easily. "I am" he said, his mind racing. "Sort of. His mother is… my half-sister. My father's from Europe (that part was the truth). Migrated over here years before I was born. He had a daughter in New Jersey before he travelled to Hill Valley – that's why she lives on the East Coast." He sighed, wondering how he had managed to make it all stick together and whether the doctor would believe him.

He did. Dr. Pentinson nodded, and got his cape. "Call me if something changes in his condition, and if nothing like that happens, when he wakes up" he said. "For now, he looks all right to me. He'll probably sleep for a while yet, probably through the night, but that's nothing to be worried about. Rest is probably the best for him in this situation… and for you, too."

Emmett sighed. "Yes, I'd better go to bed myself" he said, letting the doctor out. "It's been a long night."

The doctor nodded. "I'll see you around, Mr. Brown."

"Yeah, same here" Emmett said, yawning as he shut the door. The doctor was right – he did need some rest. After all this, he felt exhausted. One look at the clock told him it was past midnight. It was November 15th, 1955.

"Poor Marty" he muttered under his breath. "He keeps bumping into problems. Well, I hope that this one will be solved soon. I know he's not going to like it if he has to stay indoors for so long, especially now he's still in 1955… and my future self remains dead in Boot Hill Cemetery."

Sighing, the thirty-five-year-old gave one more glance towards his unconscious friend. Marty was indeed sound asleep, and it did look like he wouldn't wake up until tomorrow morning. Emmett rapidly found himself wondering whether he should go to bed at all, or stay to take care of Marty in case the teen woke up. He knew his young friend was stubborn, and an attempt to get up and, heaven forbid, work on the time machine, could make his condition worse. If Marty got himself killed because he hadn't been around to stop it, Emmett knew he would never be able to forgive himself.

However, as he sat down on a particularly comfortable chair, he soon found out that staying awake was harder than he had expected. It had been a long day, and he felt exhausted. He'd already made mistakes because of being tired – sending Lorraine to Lou's payphone when there was a normal phone booth not far away, for example – and now the sensations were really hitting him and he couldn't even hold his arm on the couch leaning anymore. Emmett decided that he couldn't help himself as he fetched a pillow from one of the other seats.

"I'll just close my eyes for a moment" he mumbled to himself. "I can't stay awake forever…can I?"

It sounded reasonable enough. Emmett settled himself on the pillow and closed his eyes. However, while he tried to remain alert so he was just resting rather than sleeping, the chair was too comfortable for that. Within a few minutes, sleep overcame him and Emmett lost consciousness.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: "This can't be happening! Not owning Back to the Future oh no please no this can't be happening. This can't be happening!" "I'm afraid it is happening, EmmettMcFly55, all of it." **

_Author's Note: Now if you're done wincing at that lame disclaimer I put up there, you can rejoice/wince at the fact that you have a new chapter to read! Hope you liked the last one as well. This chapter features Marty waking up and being stubborn, a character trait that essentially defines him in the SmartMarty-verse, and Emmett coming to some interesting realizations. Anyway, that's basically it for the Author's Note. Do I have funny or interesting things to say? Not unless you're interested in the fact that I'm turning 19 soon, or at least I plan to. Anyway, this is EmmettMcFly55, writing at 10:25 PM, GMT+1, Thursday, June 6th (D-Day!) 2013.  
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**8: Chapter Eight**

The first thing Marty McFly noticed as he woke up the next morning was that he had an incredible headache. The second thing was that he was on a couch, from what he could see in the Brown mansion living room. And the third and final thing he noticed was that he had absolutely no idea how he had gotten here.

The teen blinked. He remembered what had happened last night… or at least, he believed he did. Hadn't he gone off to the town festivities at the Square? Yes, he still knew about that. But what had happened to get him back here, and why did his head hurt so much?

As he tried to sit up, hoping it would clear his mind, it soon became apparent to Marty that he was hurt on more places than just his head. As he moved up, his arm bumped against the edge of the couch, something that should have been no problem normally. Now, however, it caused a jolt of pain to shoot through him. "Ouch!"

The sound was enough to wake Emmett, who was apparently just a short distance away in a chair. He blinked for a moment before identifying Marty close to him. "Marty!" he exclaimed, rushing to his feet. "You're awake! I – I'm sorry, I must have fallen asleep! How are you feeling?"

Marty wondered whether that phrasing was the preferred grammatical way of saying the words, but he could care less at the moment. "Horrible" he honestly answered, grimacing. "What happened, Emmett? My head hurts, my arm hurts, I've got bruises everywhere, and I've got no idea how I got here!"

"Don't you remember?" Emmett said. "It was at the town party. You went off, and when you didn't come back, we went looking for you. We found you in an alleyway like this, and after bringing you home, I called a doctor. Oh, and you told us you were beaten up by Biff Tannen and someone named Needles."

As Marty listened, he could indeed remember those events happening, albeit vaguely. "I know" he said, sighing. "Looks like they wanted revenge."

"I suppose so" Emmett said, shaking his head. "I'm going to have a word with those two. I can't believe this… when we found you, you were bleeding! I can't believe they actually did something like this!"

"They must have hated me a lot" Marty muttered, then frowning. "Emmett, why did you use the word 'we'…oh, wait, don't tell me." He grimaced. "Great Scott Emmett, you just _had _to involve my parents in this, didn't you?"

"I believe that is not the most important of your con…concerns right now" Emmett said. "You're badly hurt, and the doctor said you nearly broke your arm." He tried to recall what the physician had told him. "You also had some sort of concussion, and well, you've got bruises everywhere. I don't think they will take long to heal, but your arm and your head…" He sighed. "Well, that's something to worry about."

"I suppose so" Marty muttered. "It will be a major nuisance when we'll work on repairing the temporal field warping and displacement machine."

"Work on the time machine?" Emmett repeated. "Marty, you can't mean that! You have to understand that right now, it's absolutely out of the question that you work on the machine!"

Marty frowned. "I don't use my head while working" he quipped, before cringing as he touched the sore spot. "Well, not in active work, and I don't think any of my brain capacities have been damaged. And as for my arm, there's not even a bandage around it."

"The doctor wanted to wait with it until you woke up" Emmett recalled. "Now that you mention it, he asked me to call him when you were awake, which is now. I'd better call him right away." He began heading over to the phone.

"Now, wait, Emmett" Marty protested, sitting up. "You can't just force me to be confined to the bed for who knows how long! There's work to do, your future self is dead in the Old West, I…"

"I thought you said it wouldn't matter how long it took us to fix the time machine, you could always come back to the day after he – I – wrote the letter" Emmett said, calmly. "And you said your brain wasn't damaged?"

For a moment, Marty didn't know how to respond to that. "You can't call the doctor now" he protested.

"Why not?" Emmett wanted to know.

"Well, for one thing, it's not even dawn yet!"

Emmett frowned and looked over towards the clock, which chose that moment to chime six. "You're right" he agreed. "All right, I'll wait an hour. But after that, it'll be time the doctor is informed. You're wounded, Marty, whether you like it or not, and you can't work. Not on something like a time machine."

Marty tried to fold his arms, then remembered the wounded arm and decided to put them down instead. "But I have to" he almost pleaded. "It's important. Every moment I'm here, I'm causing damage to history."

Emmett sighed. "Marty, every moment you're _working_, you're damaging your _health_. I'm sure you can't even walk well enough to make it to the time machine, let alone work on it."

As Marty took a moment to think about that, he had to admit that he felt quite dizzy in his head. If he went up, he would probably not last more than a few steps before collapsing. "Right" he muttered, nowhere near entirely in agreement but unable to do anything about it. "That Tannen descendant one generation removed descended from a male and female human engaged in an illegitimate relationship."

"I know, I know" Emmett said. "Do you want me to call the police and inform them?"

Marty shook his head determinedly. "You can't. It will alter history."

Emmett sighed again. "Yes, but not doing it will leave them thinking they can get away with something like this. For goodness sake Marty, you were almost killed!"

Marty shrugged. "I've been through worse" he simply said, somehow keeping up an almost chilling calm posture. "They hurt me and did damage to important body parts, but I'll get out all right. I can… I _could_, theoretically, tolerate something like not working on the temporal field warping and displacement machine for a few days, but actually prosecuting Tannen and Needles!" He shuddered. "That could have more effect than I can imagine now and could alter future history to an extent that we can not oversee. The smallest change can have the biggest results, Emmett, and this is no small change."

The thirty-five-year-old understood his logic, though he didn't like it. "Okay" Emmett said. "I won't call the police. But you'd better stay here. You should rest if you want to heal quicker, not get all agitated because of these arguments."

Sulking, Marty accepted Emmett's points, and crawled back in bed. "Fine" he muttered. "But I won't stay asleep forever, not even after the doctor's been here. I can't just lay here permanently, Emmett. I'd feel too… useless."

"I suppose that I could bring you something to do later in the day" Emmett said. "But not now. Now, you have to rest."

Sighing, Marty put his head on the pillow as Emmett walked off to the kitchen, probably to prepare himself some kind of breakfast. His friend was right – he really did need rest to recover from his wounds. He got into a comfortable position, careful not to bump his arm or head against anything, and within minutes, he was asleep once more.

oooooooo

"Left arm… all right. Right arm…"

Dr. Pentinson looked at Marty. "Well, that one is harder. There are some sore spots, but you know how close you came to breaking it."

Marty sighed, as he stared at the physician who had come over. Until now, his statements had not been overly negative, with the exception of his head. But this one…

"How long until I can enjoy proper usage of my arm again?" he asked.

Dr. Pentinson frowned. "It depends" he said. "If you remain resisting stubbornly like this, you might take two weeks to heal. If you rest and let everything else do it's job, your arm should be fine in a week, although it might still give you some trouble."

While it wasn't as bad as it could have been, Marty was still appalled at the statement. "A week? You can't seriously consider that as an option!"

"I certainly do" Dr. Pentinson said. "And as for your head, well, I think that it will need a little rest, too. It is not damaged as extensively as I thought at first, but you're going to have an ache for a month. It might decrease over time… but on the other hand, I have no way right now to clarify how much brain damage was done." He frowned. "Don't you think we should take you to the hospital?"

Marty shook his head. "Not me, and not right now" he said. "I have an important project going on, and I can't be delayed by something like a hospital stay. I will make a visitation to a hospital as soon as possible when I go back home, I promise." _In 2030 or beyond, so I can be repaired to fully working order within hours, without any scars… _

"All right" Dr. Pentinson replied. "I suppose that I can accept that, if you go as soon as you can. It doesn't seem to be life threatening anyway, and, well, it's your own choice." He stood up and took his hat and coat. "Goodbye, Mr. Eastwood."

"Bye" Marty said, leaning back again. He rested his head in the pillow, as his mind raced with possibilities for him to do something constructively, despite the doctor's orders. He simply could not wait a week and do nothing in the meantime. He couldn't. There had to be something he could do…

As Emmett and Dr. Pentinson headed off, Marty continued to think, think of how he could somehow put his internal functions to it in this situation. Because there had to be a way. There just had to be one.

oooooooo

That entire day, Emmett continued to watch Marty as well as he could. He made breakfast, lunch and dinner (not that Marty had much of an appetite for either of them, but he did eat _some_ food) and took care of Marty's pillow when it needed refreshing. He looked up whatever television programs Marty might like, and was willing to concede whatever TV interests he might have had in order to please his young friend. Even when George and Lorraine came over in the afternoon after school, and he could see Lorraine felt tempted to take care of Marty like she'd just taken care of George when he had been hit by her father's car, Emmett still felt responsible for the teen and insisted on doing whatever Marty requested mostly by himself, without 'taking advantage' of their assistance.

Ordinarily, Marty might have been pleased by the attention. Despite his intense focus on science, he was still a kid like others who liked someone taking care of him as much as the next person. He did appreciate friendship, and could see that Emmett was a genuine friend to him, not simply trying to get him healthy as soon as he could so he could kick the teen out of the house and resume his life.

In this situation, however, the seventeen-year-old was not very happy with his friend's constant caring. He wanted to be active, to do something to make the time machine work. And while he had remained quiet all day, he knew that Emmett was taking too large a burden for him to carry. He would eventually give up and surrender to exhaustion. The question was when.

Conforming scientific theories about sleep processes, Emmett giving in to the need to rest happened at the moment he finally had nothing to do anymore. Shortly after dinner, when George and Lorraine had left, Emmett sat down in his chair, intending to lean back and keep an eye on Marty from there – but within moments, he was out for the count.

This was what Marty had waited for all day. All the time, he had wished to look at the time vehicle. Not work on it – he could see that was probably not an option right now, even if part of him remained stubborn. But he could at least have a look, couldn't he? That would help him in giving Emmett instructions on how to repair the machine. He couldn't do nothing all week, after all.

Carefully, Marty sat up. While he was planning to tell Emmett about his visit to the car eventually so the horse dealer-to-be could get instructions from him on fixing the machine, he wasn't about to take that chance now. Without a doubt, Emmett would send him straight back to bed if he woke up – and that was the last thing the teen wanted.

As he straightened, Marty noticed that he did not feel very well. Standing upright brought severe aches in some areas. He dismissed them as being simply the consequence of staying in bed all day, which they probably were. Trying to get used to walking again, he carefully made his way along the table, somehow managing not to fall.

Satisfied, he went over to the door that led to the hallway. For a moment, he considered taking a coat to put on. Then, he dismissed it as being silly. His arm was hurt and in the process of ruffling the jacket on and avoiding the pained limb, he might just make enough noise to wake Emmett. Also, it would take too long. The garage, on the other hand, was relatively warm and comfortable and the walk there was not very long.

As Marty stepped outside, he began to wonder whether this was really the best choice he could have made. It was already getting darker, and he couldn't see much. Perhaps he should just abandon the effort, and go back in.

But Marty McFly was not the person to abandon his quest halfway for such petty things. Stubborn as ever, he began heading down the stairs, carefully holding onto the edges. He made it down in one piece, and smiled. He half wished Emmett could have been there so he could have said 'I told you so'. All of his friend's worries appeared to be negligible.

In movies, when arrived at the moment where everything appeared to be going well, disaster would strike. Marty was not much of a movie-watcher and didn't believe what they said anyway, because he thought it was ridiculous and had no scientific basis. However, even in Marty's case, truth was stranger than fiction.

Just a few steps after Marty had entered the grass field in front of the mansion, his foot came in contact with a root of a plant Emmett had failed to remove. The teen stumbled and fell to the ground. Because his head was already hurt, it only took the relatively soft hit against the grass and sand for him to once again lose consciousness.

oooooooo

"Marty, what on earth possessed you!"

The teenager flinched under Emmett's stern look, and for a moment, the older man felt sorry for his friend. But he really had a reason to be angry. When he woke up a quarter ago to find Marty missing, he had panicked so much that he'd nearly had a heart attack. It had taken him up to ten minutes to think rationally again and realize where the seventeen-year-old had gone, and with the assistance of a flashlight, he had tracked the kid down. By then, it had been 11 PM, and Marty had been out in the cold and darkness for three full hours. Emmett had immediately brought the teen in, but after Marty had been warmed up, which he was now, he got a lecture unlike any he heard before from his friend.

Nevertheless, Marty McFly was not shaken easily. He simply shrugged, winced at the pain it caused, and then simply said: "I needed to take a look at the temporal field warping and displacement vehicle."

"You needed?" Emmett repeated. "Marty, right now you don't need to do anything but to rest. You got hurt in the accident, at several places, and you will have to relax for a while if you want to ever do anything again." He folded his arms. "This isn't some kind of joke, Marty."

"I am glad you comprehend this, because I think the same thing – which, from your actions, I was led to conclude that you apparently do not" Marty snapped back, irritated at his friend's behavior. "Temporal travelling is no game, Emmett. We have to take this as serious as we can, and having me unable to work on the machine is not serious. Your work pattern will be different from the one the original you had for _days_. Have you any idea how much damage this could cause to the space-time continuum?"

"That's the key word you've got there, Marty" Emmett responded. "_Could_. Not _will_. I suppose it could create major disasters, but I also know that chance isn't that big. I may be inexperienced in time travel, but if what you told me about the old and the new 1985 is really true, which I have no reason to doubt, then there were only small changes, changes that could easily be traced, like how your father becoming confident pretty much had to change the way your family was like, simply because he was fandament… fondamunt… because he was different. Because his entire life had changed and this naturally flowed from it. Changes that did not have to happen, did not happen. There are so many things that _could _have been altered because your parents met in a totally different manner, but they didn't. You were still born, your siblings were still born, you still got into science, and from what you told me, the future me and you still met. There were lots of ways that could have been prevented, like if the new you didn't like me, or had no reason to find a place for his experiments because the new George and Lorraine allowed it. They couldn't have known that was important, since you didn't tell them, but things still went the way they went originally… right?"

Marty had risen during Emmett's speech and now blinked, surprised at his friend's uncharacteristic behavior and knowledge about time travel. "They did, more or less" he admitted. "Great Scott, Emmett, you did raise some points I hadn't thought of, yet. I wouldn't have expected your 1985 self to make that speech, and especially not you. I guess that you really changed from how you were just two weeks ago…"

Emmett nodded with relief. It had been hard, but finally, he had now managed to talk some common sense into his friend…

"…which means I must have altered your personal history more than I thought. This is absolutely appalling. To think I could change you like that in just two weeks! I have to leave, right away. An extended stay would surely alter history too much for the space-time continuum to handle."

Emmett's eyes went wide, as Marty began to stand up again. "Marty, why do you have to be the most stubborn person I have ever met!" he called out. "You're simply taking the facts and twisting them your way, and if there's no way to twist them at all, you just pretend there is!"

Marty frowned. "You happen to be stubborn as well" he pointed out. "Remember how you didn't allow me to convince you to read that letter? It took an entire week and my parents' intervention to convince you in the original world, and a joint plea in this world. I doubt you could call yourself open-minded and flexible on that issue."

Emmett sighed. "I know, I know" he said. "But it's a completely different matter. I saw that I was wrong. Way too late, I admit it, but I saw it. You haven't yet. Can't you see that you're trying to exhaust yourself for no good reason?"

"No" Marty replied, determined. "No matter what happens, I _will _get back to work as soon as possible. History is at stake here."

Emmett sat back in his chair for a moment, leaning back, and then he stood up. "All right" he said. "I won't try to convince you anymore. But if you think I'm letting you off so easy, you're wrong."

Marty frowned, as the horse dealer went off. "What do you mean?"

Emmett turned around. "I mean that I'm going to call your parents for assistance. Not right now, because they're likely to be in bed, but I am going to call them tomorrow. If they want to cooperate – of which I have no doubt – and if it's necessary, we'll guard twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week, just to ensure you rest. And," he added, as Marty opened his mouth to protest, "don't try to protest, because you're bringing this on yourself. If you were nice and cooperated, I wouldn't need to do this."

Marty didn't know anything to say to that. Sulking, he lay back down and tried to fall back asleep. Emmett went off to prepare a cup of coffee, and after a few minutes, when he returned, he could see that his patient was sleeping soundly.

Once more, Emmett sighed, as he stared at his young friend. Why did Marty have to be so stubborn? Sure, he was pretty much the same, but as he'd just said, he had come to his senses when Marty confronted him with the repercussions. Perhaps something like that had to occur to Marty too, but if him being hurt now didn't prove that he should stop his attempts to get away, nothing would.

And yet, as Emmett leaned back and stared at his sleeping friend, he couldn't entirely dislike the situation. Marty was stubborn, yes, and a hard patient to take care of, but taking care of him _was_ a relatively nice experience. Having had no brothers or sisters, neither younger or older, Emmett had never had to take care of anyone. Now he had, and he felt that he liked it – not the responsibility, but the rewards that came with it, the satisfaction as Marty showed signs of improvement – not that he had, not much, but when he did, Emmett couldn't help but liking it. He didn't really understand what he was feeling, but it did give him a nice feeling, one of warmth. It was like being…

Like being a father.

Emmett frowned. Ever since the second and last girl he ever dated broke up with him, he had never thought of being a father again. He would never get to date somebody, and marrying was totally out of the question. And even if he ever found someone who liked him and got to marry her, Emmett was sure that having kids was no option. What good would it be, raising children while he would probably not have enough money to take care of just himself? Sure, Emmett knew his family fortune was quite sizeable, but it was likely going to run out eventually. He didn't want any potential kids to end up on the street because he wasn't able to afford living in this house anymore.

And yet… taking care of Marty had stirred feelings that might have remained hidden otherwise. While sometimes, he had felt like he was the kid and Marty the lecturing father, he had eventually come to see that Marty was too stubborn for his own good as well and needed someone to keep his schemes in check. Combined with the friendship that had developed over the past week or so, Emmett felt responsible for Marty. Like a father would.

As the thirty-five-year-old then thought back of the story Marty had told him, about their first meeting… well, there were some paternal undertones in that one too. Perhaps he had taken the natural role of a father-figure to Marty, sometime after their first meeting. Perhaps his future self did like being a father… well, sort of.

Emmett leaned back and pondered that. Marty's visit had changed things entirely. If he could manage taking care of Marty in the future, if he still lived in this mansion in the future (and from what he had seen of Emmett '85 in the video, he was still relatively wealthy), and if he was going to start an even moderately successful ranch business…

…then perhaps, if he met a girl and married her, why _shouldn't _he have kids?

After all, if you put your internal functions to it, you could accomplish anything. Marty had told him that many times. So why wouldn't it be the case in this situation?

Why not?

oooooooo

The next morning, Emmett made true to his word when he had said that he would call George and Lorraine to assist him. Both teenagers immediately complied, and from then on, they helped the horse dealer-to-be take care of his young friend. And after a few days, Emmett considered that Marty's health was improving enough for his assistants to be sent off on another task, the one Marty and he were planning to go off on the night the teen had been beat up – retrieving information about what had happened in 1885, to see what could be found about Buford Tannen and Emmett Brown.

Friday afternoon, George and Lorraine headed to the Hill Valley Library together. They got in easily, pretending to be researching for school, and soon sneaked off to the basement where they started looking through the archive.

It was George who first found something. After going through several books, he suddenly saw a photograph with a very familiar face on it… for more reasons than one. "Lorraine!" he called out.

The girl hurried over. "What?" she asked.

George pointed at the picture, smiling. "Take a look at this" he said. "William McFly and family. Dated 1911."

Lorraine gasped. The man in the photograph was probably nearing thirty, but one could still not deny that he looked almost exactly like an older version of Marty. "Family?" she asked.

George nodded. "It's my grandfather" he said, shaking his head. "Funny, I hadn't thought that he would be in the library."

Lorraine frowned. "But if you knew him, why didn't you see the resemblance between Marty and him right away?" she asked. "I mean, I know he's probably a lot older now, but I think you'd be able to see how much they look alike, especially if you've seen old photographs of him."

Her boyfriend shrugged. "I don't know" he admitted. "I saw that they looked like each other, vaguely, but I didn't really realize it, and I certainly didn't take it as a hint that he was from the future. You know how much we initially doubted him when he did tell us."

Lorraine had to agree to that. "Good point" she said. "It's remarkable, though, how they can look so much alike."

George nodded, and returned to the archives. Almost immediately, he made a face. "Well, this is one resemblance you _can't_ miss."

His girlfriend had to agree with him. The picture was in black-and-white, but despite that one could easily see the resemblance with Biff. It was almost unnecessary to read the caption, but it did confirm her suspicions: this was indeed Buford Tannen.

"Buford Tannen was a notorious gunman whose short temper and a tendency to drool earned him the nickname of 'Mad Dog'" George read. "He was quick on the trigger and bragged that he had killed 12 men, not including Indians or Chinamen."

Lorraine shuddered. "Too bad I never looked this up before last week" she muttered. "If I had known what Buford Tannen was capable of, I wouldn't have been surprised at Biff trying to rape me and beating Marty up. Looks like evil is in the Tannen genes."

"Probably" George agreed. "It says here that claims could not be substantiated since precise records were not kept after Tannen shot a newspaper editor after printing an unfavourable story about him in 1884." He frowned. "Well, that would keep anyone from publishing more."

"Yeah" Lorraine agreed. "Is there anything else about this Buford fellow that Marty should now?" She shuddered. "I still can't believe he's actually going back there to face that guy. As if Biff wasn't bad enough."

"Well, he might not actually _face_ him" George reminded her. "He could just be able to walk in, take the older version of Mr. Brown – Emmett – with him, and leave again."

"True" Lorraine conceded. "It still sounds bad, though. From what Marty has told us, almost all of his other time trips ended in disaster, so I wouldn't be surprised if this one did, too."

George nodded. "No offence, but shall we go back to work again?" he said. "We still have some things to do beyond helping Marty, after all."

Lorraine nodded, and sat down next to him as they looked through the papers. Fortunately, they didn't have to look long. Within moments, Lorraine found a photograph of a man they easily recognized. "It's Mr. Brown!" she exclaimed.

On the picture, an older Emmett Brown stood in front of the clock both of them recognized as the one that had just been struck by lightning. The caption read: 'The new clock, September 5th, 1885.'

George looked at it, as startled as Lorraine was. "Well, that proves that he was there" he said. "Shall we take it along?"

Lorraine shrugged. "We probably should" she said. "Marty says that anything being somewhere it shouldn't be could alter time, and I don't think a picture of Mr. Brown, uh, _Emmett's_ older self really belongs here."

"You're right" George agreed, taking the photograph. "I guess that's everything, then." He sighed. "We did what we could – let's hope Marty is capable of doing the rest."

oooooooo

When George and Lorraine went back to the Brown mansion that afternoon, Marty agreed with them on the picture issue – it really did not belong in 1955. It was put in the truck and remained there for the next few days, as Marty continued to heal. It was on Monday that Marty finally raised the argument of leaving 1955 again, something he hadn't talked much about anymore once he finally found out that his friends were not going to listen to his arguments.

This time, however, he got a lot closer to convincing them. Marty's arm was in a better state now and it had been a full week since the accident. Despite the fact that George, Emmett and Lorraine opposed the idea, Marty continued to protest and pointed out that he had shown excellent progress in healing, and that he was now capable of walking again without too much trouble. His head wound was also showing signs of progress.

Eventually, Marty caved in, but when he raised the argument again the next day, his stubbornness was tougher to overcome. Finally, Emmett realized that they could not go on like this and permitted Marty to lend some limited assistance on the time machine repairs.

Despite Marty's hurry, it would eventually be another few days before he left. That was partly because he was still recovering from his wounds, partly because he still needed to fetch some 1880s era clothing, and partly because Marty made some stubborn attempts to repair the hover conversion as well as the time circuits. Eventually, he had to concede that it just was no possibility, not unless he wanted to spend another month in 1955. And thus, on Friday, November 25th, 1955, Marty announced his attention to depart that night.

George and Lorraine insisted on attending his departure, something which Marty didn't protest too much against as he knew they, or at least Lorraine, would not be persuaded out of their decision easily. And eventually, his parents turned out to be a help rather than a burden on one issue: Emmett's choice of Wild West clothing.

While Emmett insisted that the clothes he picked were genuine western clothes, even Marty, who had not seen much movies of the era, could tell they were wrong, and George and Lorraine supported him in it. Emmett eventually lost the argument and more research was done, which caused Marty to end up with period-accurate clothes. It did slightly delay his departure, which ended up happening in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 26th...


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Last night Darth Vader came down from Planet Vulcan, and told me that if I claimed to own Back to the Future, he'd melt my brain. **

_Author's Note: Another chapter, which should be obvious. Concerning Martin McFly's departure into the 19th Century. May have controversial content, depending on what you find controversial. Features Martin Seamus 'Marty' McFly, Emmett Lathrop Brown, George Douglas McFly, Lorraine Stella McFly, Seamus No-Middle-Name-Thought-Up-Yet McFly and a bear. Posted as of July 26th 2013. Please read and review.  
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**9: Chapter Nine**

The location Marty had selected was one neither of his 1950s friends had ever noticed before, a small drive-in some twenty miles from Hill Valley. The area was abandoned so early in the morning, and as a result, Marty considered it perfect for his departure.

Of course, the others disagreed, most notably Emmett. As they arrived at the spot, he groaned in frustration. "Marty, I know you're stubborn about feeling better than we think you do, but do you really want to walk back from here just to prove us wrong?"

"Of course not" Marty said. "I have my reasons – _valid_ reasons – for that, you know. It is too dangerous to depart from a place close to town, and I can not drive the truck into Hill Valley either. It is 1885, Emmett, years before cars were invented. I will raise more than just a little bit of suspicion if I drive in with the time vehicle. And suspicion is a thing I want to avoid at all cost. Besides, there's supposed to be a small cave over here somewhere which will be perfect for hiding the car."

"Well, it's a lonely place all right, but you surely can't travel through time here!" Emmett protested. "Just because... well, just look at that screen up ahead! If you're going to drive up to eighty-eight here, you're going to crash into those Indians!" He pointed at a screen covered with Indian warriors at the end of the Drive-In.

Marty shook his head. "Emmett," he said, "you're not thinking fourth-dimensionally! I'll instantaneously be transported through the space-time continuum to 1885 as soon as I reach eighty-eight. I have made calculations enough to ensure myself that I can reach the speed before reaching the Indians, and when I go back to the 19th Century, there will not be any Indians there because the drive-in wasn't constructed yet at the time. The screen will be safe."

Emmett resigned to that fact, and they left Marty to change his clothes while the older man reset the controls of the time machine, getting the new time circuits warmed up as his friend had instructed him. After a short while, Marty returned from the changing room of the drive-in in his 1880s clothes, complete with a brown hat. "How do I look?" he asked.

"Nice" Lorraine commented. "And perfect for the Old West."

"I think you look all right" George said. "Probably not perfect, but you wouldn't look strange to someone in the 1880s."

"I suppose George is right" Emmett said. "Though I'm still unsure about you not using the clothes I suggested. I told you they were fine, too."

"And I told you they were not, Emmett," Marty said, "and George and Lorraine agreed with me, so let's just abandon the argument, shall we?" He looked over to the truck, absent-mindedly putting a hand to his forehead. While his arm was now healed (although still vulnerable), his head wound still ached from time to time and a repetition of the accident that brought him the wound would be bad, to say the least.

Emmett frowned. "Are you sure you can go to the past with the bandage on your head, Marty?"

"I'll manage" Marty said, waving away his friend's concerns as if they were about something insignificant – which to him, they were. "As long as I am careful, I'll be fine. Are _you_ sure you have the temporal field warping and displacement machine ready?"

"I'm sure" Emmett said, as the four of them walked over to the car. "See, everything is in working order. It should be, for all the repairs we did on it."

"You're right" Marty said, as he got in and switched the time circuits on. "Still, any tiny error might slip through. But all right, temporal field defining circuitry activated... the Present Time is 6:45 A.M., that is likely correct. What do you think the Destination Time should be?" Without waiting for Emmett's answer, he went ahead and picked one himself. "Let's see, you wrote the letter on the third, so I cannot go there because I want to avoid altering history. You will be shot on the seventh, so I must go to a time before that. The day after you wrote the letter would be the best. September fourth... that's a Friday. Friday, September 4th, 1885, 6:30 A.M."

"How do you know that's a Friday?" George asked, baffled.

"Simple trick" Marty said. "It's easy to calculate the days of a week in a short period of time once you know the method. But that's not important." He looked up, getting out of the car. "The Fusion reactor is filled up?"

"Check" Emmett replied.

"The gas tank?"

"Check."

"Did you put my belongings in the vehicle?"

"Check."

"Everything else is in order? Are you absolutely certain you didn't forget anything?"

A sigh. "_Check_, Marty."

Marty nodded. "Well, then that's it. I should be going." He looked at Emmett. "It was good to see you again. Even if you didn't exactly like the fact I showed up after I had just left."

"Well, I understand there was no other option for you" Emmett replied. "As long as you promise me you won't show up again after leaving now."

"You know I cannot grant you that" Marty replied. "I'll try, though. But if I do, promise me not to faint, okay?"

"Okay" Emmett promised. He reached out and hugged the teen, feeling a little bit awkward. He still wasn't entirely sure what to do with the paternal feelings he had had for Marty, and whether to act on his wish to have children if he would ever find a girl. But well, he could always cross that bridge when he came to it. He was thirty-five, after all, so he still had some years to go. "Good luck" he simply said, releasing Marty.

"Thanks" Marty said, then turning to look at George. "Goodbye to you too."

"Thank you" George replied. "I'll take care of what you said, you know. About the internal functions and all. I won't let Biff or anybody else get the upper hand on me again." He shook the teen's hand. "Goodbye, and good luck."

Finally, Marty turned to Lorraine, who blushed. Marty frowned in response. "What's wrong?"

"Well, I..." Lorraine began, suddenly shy. "I... I wanted to apologize... for hitting on you, Marty. It hit me on Monday that I'd really been hitting on my future son all the time and that I even kissed you after you told me who you were! I..." she looked down. "I'm sorry."

"That's all right" Marty said. "You already apologized to me in the future, and I understand that you were unaware of who I was, and after I told you, you were initially too unaccustomed to the situation to change your view of me."

"No, it's not all right" Lorraine replied, nervously. "I...I can't take this. I know it must sound crazy, considering I didn't at all feel like this on Saturday evening, but... well... I realized how wrong I was by Monday, and it became worse over time, as I was horrified about having done all those things to you. I just feel guilty. About being such a horrible person... such a horrible mother."

Marty sighed, but it soon became more than just a sigh. What if Lorraine would keep this idea all the time in the future? She had just told him it had worsened over time. What if this new reality would turn his mother into a wrecked person who was unable to look her own son in the face? What if his mother's fear of her son would strand his parents' marriage? He glanced at the time vehicle behind him, and then at Lorraine in front of him. He had to do something now, something decisive that would convince her, and would leave her in the knowledge that her son did not blame her for what happened. And he didn't, really. Lorraine hitting on him had unsettled him somewhat, but he was a scientist, and one who was capable of keeping a straight face at just about anything. And Lorraine was a nice girl, and she had apologized to him, so he had thought the case was shut... until now.

He paused, and stared at her, nervous sweats breaking out on his face. "Lorraine, are you sure?" he pleaded for a final time. "Maintaining such an unhealthy obsession with this week could wreck your and George's future and our well-being as a family."

Lorraine had to think about that, then she shook her head. "But I..." she began. "I just can't... I just can't accept it. Perhaps you're really feeling disgusted at me, and you're just trying to say all this to fool me. It just isn't convincing enough."

Marty knew it was inevitable now. He had to act now. A look at George told him the other boy at least suspected what he had in mind and was supportive of it. There just wasn't any other way now, and if there was, Marty couldn't think of it.

"Well," he began, forcing himself to smirk, "is this?" With that, he locked off his mind, put his hands on Lorraine's sides, pulled the surprised girl close and kissed her.

For just a few short moments, their mouths stayed locked on each other and Lorraine, despite the fact that her eyes widened, didn't pull away. For that instant, Marty began to worry that she was falling for him again, but the next moment, she did pull back, slowly and reluctantly, but surely. She squeezed Marty's hands. "It is" she confessed. "Sorry for getting you upset, Marty... for making you have to do that. I don't want to be disgusted with myself all the time either. We're going to be a family, an odd one for sure, but one nonetheless, and the things we've experienced this months aren't going to stop it." She hugged her future son, and Marty hugged her back.

"See you in the future" Lorraine whispered in his ear.

Marty smirked before letting go of her. "See you in the future" he agreed. "Although I'll actually see Emmett in the past."

"I suppose so" Emmett said, a bit rattled at the sudden change from the surprising kiss back to the impending time travel. "Well, goodbye, Marty."

"Goodbye, Emmett" his friend said, shaking his hand for a final time before stepping into the time vehicle. He pressed the button that created the glass protection of the machine, then backed off, nearing a gate with a sign on it that, as he had noticed before, read: 'Drive 'Em Home Safely'. Considering the circumstances, it was quite fitting.

As he arrived at the gate, he heard Emmett's voice from the small building on the drive-in. "Ready?" the horse dealer asked.

"Ready!" Marty confirmed.

"Set!" Emmett shouted, before firing a gun. Marty immediately hit the gas and the truck started to accelerate towards them. He passed the building, where his friends were waving at him, and headed towards the screen.

As he neared it, Marty worried for an instant whether his calculations had been correct. The speedometer was past sixty, but the screen was getting closer. However, he didn't need to worry. A few seconds later, the time machine reached eighty-eight miles per hour. Marty glanced at the destination time a final time before bracing himself as the flux capacitor lit up.

A flash of light covered the front window, and when it faded a moment later, Marty initially didn't see anything that had changed. He did notice a moment later, though, when the truck suddenly encountered much rougher terrain than he'd ever driven on before. A look outside told him that it was lighter than when he had left, that he was driving through an area with holes everywhere, and that all signs of civilization had abruptly disappeared. He was in 1885.

The moment after he realized that and got a brief thrill from it, Marty's happy feelings disappeared. He was riding a 1980s car over 1880s rough terrain, something which wasn't giving him a very nice feeling, and also something he didn't want to keep doing until he went back to 1985 – he was planning to leave the car behind somewhere around here anyway. Now that he knew that he was in the past, he started looking for the cave he had previously mentioned to his friends, the one that had come up with his research

He soon found it. Just a short distance away from his location, more or less where he had presumed it would be, was a small cave, and Marty drove the machine over. However, as he was about to enter the cave, he – or rather, the truck's fuel line – encountered a rather pointy rock. The sound of the rock ripping a hole in the fuel line could be heard even in the driver's seat Marty was in.

Marty parked the car just inside the cave (meaning just narrowly, because parking it too deep in would make seeing the error harder), pushed on the button for removing the windshield, and went out to have a look at what had happened. As he stared at the fuel line, he could see there was a small hole in it. It wasn't large, but nonetheless, some gas was dripping out from it.

"Just my luck" Marty muttered. It would have been easy to patch the hole back home, but not right now. Not only didn't he have any tape on him, he really didn't want to linger around here for too long – he had to find Emmett as soon as possible. Sighing, he took his hat off his head and collected some 1880s money and a few photographs from the car: the one Emmett had taken of his future self's tombstone and the one George and Lorraine had retrieved from the archive. For a moment, Marty frowned – did he just think of his parents as 'George and Lorraine'? He really had been spending too much time in the 1950s. The moment later, he shrugged it off, partially because he suddenly came up with an idea.

What if he put his hat under the car? It could surely catch the fuel. That way, if it had to drip out, at least it wouldn't be completely wasted and could be put back in. Smiling at the thought, Marty was about to kneel when he suddenly heard a roar behind him. And when he looked, he wished he hadn't parked the machine in this cave.

Standing less than five feet away from him was a tall black bear. It stood upright and roared menacingly. And even Marty, who, as a scientist, knew he shouldn't be doing this, did exactly what his instinct told him to do. He turned, and ran as fast as he could.

Naturally, the bear started following him, and no matter how hard he ran, he knew he wasn't able to outrun it. Desperate, Marty threw his hat towards the animal. The bear stopped, and sniffed at the object. Relieved by the temporary reprieve, Marty ran up a hill, and cautiously moved down the other side, hoping the bear wouldn't see where he had gone.

Luckily, the bear seemed to be uninterested in continuing the chase, and Marty looked around to see a wooden gate of some sorts. He walked over and leaned against it, as he felt his head wound play up. Perhaps he shouldn't have run so fast – but then again if he hadn't, he would have likely ended up being caught by the bear, which wasn't a very nice prospect.

Marty felt so disorientated, that he didn't notice someone coming closer until the man was right in front of him. Then, he looked up, and stared into a very familiar face. With the exception of the clothes and a red moustache, the man looked just like him! He frowned. This had to be a relative.

"Good morning, mister" the other man said. "Are you not feeling well?"

"Just a headache" Marty said, pressing the sore spot. "It continues to be a nuisance, and I suspect it will be for some time. It started hurting again when I ran to escape from a bear."

"Aye, the bears around here are quite nasty" the man agreed. "Why don't you come to our house and sit with me and me wife for a while? We don't get visitors that often, and you appear to need a little rest."

"I'm all right" Marty told him. "It's just a minor ache. I should be moving on. I need to go to Hill Valley."

"Well, ain't that a nice coincidence" the man said. "I need to deliver some vegetables to the market, later this morning. If you don't mind waiting a while, you can ride with me. I need to milk the cows first, though, and attend to some other duties at the farm."

Marty smiled at his presumed ancestor's generosity, and pondered the thought. If the man was going to the market anyway, it couldn't disrupt history that much. And he had to admit he wasn't looking forward to walking the entire way – as his friends had pointed out back in 1955, it was quite far. His mind made up, he slowly nodded. "That would be very kind of you, mister..."

"McFly" the man told him. "Seamus McFly. Me and me wife Maggie are the first McFly's in America. And your name is..."

Marty winced. He shouldn't have asked his ancestor's name, but curiosity had gotten the better of him this time. And now, he had to come up with a good name. "Uh," he said, trying to stall while his mind raced, "I'm, uh..." He frowned. _"Why do I have to be so unprepared! I bet that other scientists who thought about time travel would have planned everything down to the smallest details, but I have to improvise, while I told Emmett that I had everything prepared, back at the mall. Certainly Einstein would have done a much better job... Einstein?" _

That was it! "Einstein" he blurted out, mentally checking whether the scientist would have been born at the time. He probably was, but Marty figured he wasn't well-known yet, and his Clint Eastwood alias in 1955 had been cutting it close too, anyway. "Albert... Albert Einstein."

Seamus nodded. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Einstein" he said. "Over there is the entrance to the farm. You can get in, and I'll accompany you to the house. Maggie is home, so she'll be able to tend to you."

"That's really not necessary, Mr. McFly" Marty protested. "I'm feeling all right. A little hurt, yes, but nothing major."

"I understand" Seamus replied. "But it's really no trouble. As I said, we rarely get visitors these days, and considering the fact you need a ride to downtown Hill Valley and I'm going there, taking you along is what anyone should do. You will just have to wait a while on the farm. For us, it's no trouble – I'm sure that Maggie will like some company."

"All right, all right" Marty said, sighing, as he entered the farm and walked over to Seamus. "When are you leaving for Hill Valley?"

"Ten o' clock, perhaps a little later" Seamus told him, as they set off towards the farm. "We should be there by twelve-thirty, roughly. The horses aren't that fast, but I've got the time." He sighed and took a breath. "If you don't mind me asking, what would your business be in Hill Valley?"

"It's a matter concerning Emmett Brown" Marty replied, trying to be as vague as possible. "He's my best companion, and I have the... feeling... that he might be mortally wounded within the next few days, because of the presence of a man named Buford Tannen, with whom Emmett does not get along."

"Emmett Brown?" Seamus said. "I know him. He's our new local blacksmith. Not a great one for sure, but he's a nice fellow, and there's no one else to take the job. I can understand you're afraid of Buford Tannen hurting him, though. Buford has been angered at Emmett ever since he failed to shoe Buford's horse right, and the horse threw his shoe – while Tannen was on it. That was little over a week ago, and Buford has been making threats towards Emmett ever since. I figure you're worried about him doing more than just that, though, considering he's known for being the fastest gun in the west."

"Yes, that's true" Marty replied. "I've heard stories about that." He sighed, as he felt bad about the whole situation. He just hoped he and Emmett wouldn't encounter any more bad luck before leaving. Buford Tannen might have shot his friend on the seventh in the old timeline, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't kill Emmett earlier in the new timeline, as soon as he would have started interfering. With Marty's presence in 1885, anything could alter the future.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I just don't own anything, okay? Please leave me alone. Aren't these disclaimers getting annoying? I thought so. **

_Author's Note: Another chapter, as you can see. Deals with... not much. Marty arriving in town, meeting Emmett, and finding out that there are some strange things there, but still ending the chapter on a cheerful note of departure for home. What could possibly go wrong? You will find it out... next time.  
><em>

**10: Chapter Ten**

Maggie McFly looked up, as she heard the door being opened behind her. A quick look at the clock confirmed that it was still early in the morning, not even past seven. So, what was her husband doing back here already?

As she continued to look, she saw Seamus enter, accompanied by a familiar-looking young man. Her husband instantly noticed her. "Good morning, Maggie" he softly spoke. "This young man here is mister Albert Einstein, whom I met passing by the farm. He's heading to Hill Valley, so I invited him to join me on the wagon. I told him he could stay with you until I leave."

As Maggie frowned, the young man smiled at her. "Hi" he said. "I'm, uh, Albert Einstein."

"I'm Maggie McFly – that's _Mrs_ McFly" Maggie said, adding the latter part for security. She'd seen Buford glancing at her, and while this young man seemed to be nice, she didn't want to take chances. She wondered why Seamus had taken him in like that, even if it was just for a short period of time. These days, Maggie had a hard time trusting people she didn't know.

"Nice to meet you" Albert replied. She noticed that his eyes were drawn towards the small box she'd put little Will in. Maggie frowned suspiciously. Mr. Einstein wasn't planning to steal her baby, was he?

She turned to Seamus. "Can I have a short talk with you?" she requested, with a look in her eyes that made clear she wouldn't take no for an answer.

Seamus realized as much, as he gulped. "Aye." He looked at Mr. Einstein for a moment before following his wife to the side kitchen.

"Seamus," Maggie began, "I know you feel sorry for people having to travel all the way to Hill Valley on foot, but are you sure you want to do this? Taking him into the house... he's a complete stranger, Seamus!"

"I know, Maggie" Seamus replied. "But I think it's the right thing to do. I feel like he's somehow connected to us. He even looks like poor Martin."

Of course, that was why the young man had looked familiar. Martin McFly had been dead for almost three years now, but Maggie remembered him well, and the young man did indeed look very similar to Martin. She wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, William started crying.

"I'd better tend to him" she told her husband, but as she wanted to walk back into the room, he put an arm on her shoulder. As she looked around, confused, he pointed into the room. "Look" he said, softly.

As young Mr. Einstein had walked over to William, the baby had slowed down the pace of his cries. And as Mr. Einstein looked at their son, the cries stopped entirely. Maggie gasped. Usually, the presence of strangers made Will cry harder, not softer. Perhaps they were somehow connected to the young man after all.

"You're right" she admitted. "There may be a connection, somewhere." She looked over at William, who was now watching Mr. Einstein with fascination. "I'm not entirely convinced of it, but you can let him stay."

oooooooo

The rest of the morning passed without much significant events. Marty did his best to assist his great-great-grandmother, and in the end, he noticed her acting friendlier towards him than she had at the beginning of the morning. After the entire morning had passed, Seamus came to pick him up, and they rode to Hill Valley.

Marty wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting when he entered Hill Valley 1885, but nevertheless, the sight baffled him. There were no real roads – everything was covered with or made out of sand and mud. There was an extremely primitive public bath house, a horse ranch – Marty smirked, wondering what Emmett had thought of that – and even an office for the sheriff. While Marty knew better than to expect similarities with the Hill Valley of 1955 and 1985, the sight still came as a shock. Even the clock in the courthouse, which had gained a special meaning to him now that he had been sent back to the future when it had received that lightning bolt in 1955, simply wasn't there yet. There was just an open space where the clock should be. All in all, it was a very strange sight.

As Marty finished his ponderings, he noticed that Seamus had stopped the wagon at the place where he knew the Aerobics Studio to be. Right now, the place appeared to house some sort of saloon. It appeared that this was his ancestor's destination, since he started taking the crates from the wagon.

Marty pondered for a moment whether he should wait here for Seamus to talk to him and show him where Emmett lived, but the farmer didn't appear to notice him. Marty frowned, but then he shrugged it off. Seamus had probably intended for him to simply find his way to Emmett's shop himself. That was fine, too – Marty didn't want to alter history, and his ancestor probably had more to do. Thus, he hopped off the wagon and started pondering his options.

He could of course wander through town randomly, hoping to find Emmett or something that vaguely looked like a blacksmith shop, but even in a small town like Hill Valley, that was not a good option. Alternatively, he could ask Seamus, but the farmer had just walked into the saloon.

Actually, _that_ wasn't too bad of a course for him to follow either. In the saloon, there would be a lot of people, and at least one of them would probably know where Emmett lived. Marty knew he could alter history by talking with someone in there, but a short talk would be unlikely to have major repercussions. His mind made up, the teenager walked over to the saloon and entered through the wooden doors.

As he got inside, Marty had to gawk for a moment. While he had known that he'd end up in an 1880s saloon and had some idea of what it would be, the interior was still a surprise simply because it was so alien to him. The whole place was made of wood. On the other end of the room, a man was drying an empty glass behind what Marty presumed to be the bar. To his left, Marty saw an open door which Seamus and a man he didn't recognize were hauling crates through. To his right, the teen could see a couple of old men playing cards, although they had paused from their game to stare at him. As he looked above them, he could see a couple of barely clad girls and adult women standing before what appeared to be bedrooms looking at him flirtatiously. Marty shivered, as he realized what exactly these girls did for a living.

Marty came to his senses and walked towards the bar, sitting down on one of the stools. For a moment, he continued his gazing, until he saw the bartender staring at him questioningly. "Well, are you going to order something?" he asked.

The seventeen-year-old thought about that for a moment. Making a purchase would be a convenient way to gain the man's friendship and make him more inclined to tell Marty where Emmett lived. And he did have some money on him. He'd made a purchase of old coins and bills in 2015, and while Emmett had taken all of that when he got trapped in this time period, Marty had brought some bills along from an antiques shop he'd let the younger Emmett visit while he was still in 1955. It wasn't much, but it was certainly more than enough for a small purchase, unless 1880s drinking prices were ten times as high as he'd expect them to be.

"Yeah," he began, reluctantly, "give me..."

"Hey McFly!"

Marty couldn't help himself – he immediately turned around, and gasped. Facing him was a rough outlaw, complete with a gun and western clothes, who looked just like Biff Tannen. Marty shivered. Biff with a gun... having seen in the alternate 1985 what that could do, he wasn't inclined to believe that this Tannen look-alike was up to any good.

The Tannen looked at him. "I thought I done..." He then frowned as he got a better look at the teen, and he stared to the left, where Seamus was just entering through the back door. "What the..." he muttered. "Seamus! I'm talking to you, you Irish bug!"

Marty's great-great-grandfather winced as he saw Tannen, but didn't show clear signs of fear, like his great-grandson George would have done. "Buford Tannen" he simply said, looking the man in the eye.

The seventeen-year-old gasped. If this was the Buford Tannen his parents had read about, then... "Great Scott!" he exclaimed. "You're Ma-"

"WHAT?" Buford demanded, angered.

"Uh, nothing" Marty said, relieved that he had managed to realize at the last moment that saying what he thought wasn't the best thing to do at this time.

Buford made his way over to the bar, his gang following. "Nothing" he repeated, growling. "Who are you? Are you kin to that hay barber over there?"

"Ma-Albert Einstein" Marty replied. "And no, I'm not related to Mr. McFly."

Buford and his gang laughed. "Mr. McFly" Buford repeated, grinning. "That's not 'mister' McFly, that's a no-good Irishman who just keeps lookin' for trouble." He looked at Seamus. "As I were saying, I thought I done tellin' you never to come in here again."

"You certainly did" Seamus confirmed.

Buford's eyes narrowed. "Then get out."

For a moment, Marty feared that his ancestor and Biff's ancestor were going to fight, but apparently, Seamus was smart enough not to go that far. He simply turned around, accepted some money from the bartender's assistant (payment for the crates, no doubt) and walked out.

Buford looked after him, then turned to the bartender, who was just pouring a drink for him. The outlaw simply shoved it aside with his gun. "Bartender," he growled, "I'm looking for that no-good cheatin' blacksmith. You seen him around?"

The bartender gulped. "No, sir, Mr. Tannen" he replied. "I have not."

Buford growled. "Well, the next time you see him, tell him he owes me eighty dollars for failing to shoe my horse right. If he won't pay up, he'll receive a bullet in his back."

"I'll tell him" the bartender promised.

"Good" Buford muttered, glancing at his gang. "Come on, boys. Let's see if there's something else we can do 'round here."

Buford walked out, and after the others had followed him, Marty heard the bartender make a sigh of relief. The teen looked up. "Excuse me?"

The bartender turned to him. "Yeah?"

"Do you really not have knowledge of Mr. Brown's whereabouts?" Marty asked. "He is my companion, and I don't possess information on where he lives."

The bartender looked at him suspiciously, then shrugged. "I don't know for sure where Emmett is now," he said, "but you might want to try his shop. Joey!" For a moment, Marty thought the man was addressing him, but instead, the bartender's young assistant looked up. "Can you show mister..."

"Einstein" Marty helpfully supplied.

"...mister Einstein where Emmett Brown lives?"

The man nodded, and gestured for Marty to follow him. The seventeen-year-old took a last look around the saloon before returning to the Hill Valley Main Street.

oooooooo

Emmett's shop turned out to be very close by, even if Marty could have guessed that from the fact that the bartender was willing to send his assistant to accompany someone who hadn't even bought something at his saloon. Once arriving, Marty thanked the young man and carefully opened the door.

As Marty entered the shop, he wondered for a moment whether he hadn't been sent to the wrong place after all. The blacksmith shop was, to Marty's surprise, very much like, well, a blacksmith shop, with tools cluttered everywhere – not something he would expect from the Emmett Brown he knew. However, a closer look revealed that he was at the right place after all. That was partly because the machines, while more complicated than the ones his friend usually worked with, were still quite crude and simple. Partly, it was also from seeing Emmett himself, bent down and leaning beneath some kind of forge.

For a moment, the teen wondered what to do, but he eventually decided to go for the straight-forward approach, letting out a short cough. Emmett looked up, saw him, looked back at the forge and was about to resume his activities when he realized who he had seen.

His head shot up from surprise, but unfortunately, it didn't get very far. Instead, Emmett's head collided with the outer ends of the forge instead, which caused Emmett to let out a cry of pain and Marty to wonder whether he should permit himself to laugh or whether he should feel sympathy. It turned out to be irrelevant, as Emmett winced, but then largely ignored the bruise and stood up, looking at his friend.

"Marty..." he said. "I'd been expecting you earlier in the day, you know. Perhaps yesterday."

"I suppose so" his friend replied. "I had some... issues to get around, though."

"But it's good to see you" Emmett responded, walking over and hugging the teen. However, the hug didn't last long, as Marty let out a cry of pain after Emmett hit his wounded arm a little too hard.

"What's wrong?" the older man asked, confused. "Did I hurt you?"

Marty shook his head. "No, it's an injury I ended up with in 1955" he said, glancing at the arm and wincing. "I'll tell you later. You don't remember any of that, do you?"

Emmett thought hard, then shook his head. "No" he replied. "I only recall having you around one time, not a second time... provided that you went to the younger me, of course. Should I remember anything else?"

"I went to your counterpart all right" Marty said. "And no, you shouldn't remember. In fact, this ties in perfectly with a theory on time travel I've been working on. Once we get home, I should do more research and see what existing theories fit with the ideas I have and what we've seen so far."

"Well, you are – will be - the Doc, Marty" Emmett replied. "I just hope we get home fast. Where have you got the time machine? After the fuss you made about it in 1955 when I wanted to rescue you from Biff's garage, I don't suppose you took it uptown. Or did you change your mind?"

Marty shook his head. "No, it's over at a cave, close to where I departed from" he replied. "Do you want to leave right away, or have you got anything more to do right now?"

Emmett shook his head. "No, I can leave" he said, taking his coat. "I've been ready to leave for quite some time now." They went outside, and he saddled two horses, on which he and Marty took positions. After having done that, Emmett gestured to the edges of the town. "Lead the way, Mr. McFly."

Marty smirked, and they rode off. Very soon, they had left Hill Valley.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: Don't own BTTF, blah blah blah. I have really run out of original disclaimers now. Does anybody have an idea?**

_Author's Note: All right, this chapter is extremely short, which is why I'm adding another one right hereafter. It's all part of some gambit to make this story be 20 chapters in length, so that the entire trilogy will be exactly fifty chapters long. But anyway, this one deals with Marty and Emmett... well, just talking. More action in the next chapter.  
><em>

**11: Chapter Eleven **

"I can't believe this! Why does Murphy's Law have to target us every time! Can't it ever find somebody else?"

"Whose law?" Emmett asked, confused. They were back at the blacksmith shop after having transported the time machine there with some of Emmett's horses. The reason for that transportation being done by horse, however, didn't please Marty at all.

"Never mind" his seventeen-year-old friend muttered, frustrated. "It's just unbelievable, though. Of all the things that bear could have done, it had to further open the hole! I'd expected some of the gas to have dripped away, but not this much! This is a disaster!"

"Yeah" Emmett responded. "All that gas will probably ruin the ground here."

"Emmett, please" Marty insisted. "I know it's not healthy for the environment either, but right now, the issue is that there is too little gas left in the tank for us to use!"

Emmett frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

"Ninety-five percent" the teenaged scientist confirmed. "There is some gas left, but not enough for the acceleration up to eighty-eight." He looked at the tank, and sighed. "Well, at least now the hole is patched."

"I suppose" Emmett said. "If the fuel is not enough, it's not going to help much though. Have you got any other ideas? We have to get out of here quick, after all."

Marty glanced at his friend. After he had shown Emmett the picture of his tombstone, the older man had become a lot less enthusiastic for the time period he lived in, and had even annoyed Marty somewhat with his worrying. On the other hand, considering it was already evening on the fourth and that his death was going to take place on the seventh unless they somehow prevented it, Marty could hardly blame him.

"I suppose I do have some thoughts on the matter, yes" he finally said. "Let's see... we can't use the machine on its own to accelerate to eighty-eight miles per hour, can we? No. So we will have to use some kind of supporting... thing, that will enable us to reach that speed. Hmm..."

"How about those horses?" Emmett suggested. "They seemed to be capable of pulling the car at great speed."

"Emmett, really" Marty replied, shaking his head. "The average horse doesn't run any faster than twenty-five miles, and I don't think any horse could add more than ten or fifteen to that. They'll never reach eighty-eight miles per hour."

"Right, right" Emmett muttered. "Can't you make some other thing that could push or pull it up to eighty-eight?"

"I wish I could" Marty said. "Unfortunately, the primitive nature of the current technology disables me from faring on such a course. We will have to use natural means to achieve the intended result." He stared out of the window, thinking hard. "I just wished that... we could find some smooth surface to accelerate on... something with a natural descent... of course! We could simply push it down a steep hill! Emmett, are there any hills around here?"

"There are some" Emmett replied. "None that you wouldn't know, though."

Marty frowned, his initial enthusiasm fading. "And those I know don't have any smooth enough surface" he muttered. "We'll probably come crashing down instead. No... what about ice?"

"Ice cream?" Emmett smirked. "I don't know if I've got that around, Marty."

The teen waved his joke away. "You know what I meant, Emmett. Regular ice. There is a lake in the near vicinity of our hometown, so what if we wait until winter, when it freezes over..."

"Uh, Marty?" Emmett said, waving the photograph in front of his friend's face. "Monday? Me getting shot?"

"Of course, of course" Marty grumbled. He sighed, looking at the clock. "The problem is, I don't really have any other ideas. Well, one – we could go to the saloon to try to experiment with alternate fuels, but I'd rather not destroy the time machine. I'll consider that if there's no other option... do you have any other idea?"

"Not really" Emmett said, thinking hard. "You said... something to support the acce... acceleration? A thing that can make it to eighty-eight miles per hour on it's own and also support the time machine?"

"Right" Marty said. "I just don't know what, though. I suppose I have been getting too little sleep. And considering my arm and head, I'll probably need some extra rest anyway. Great Scott, why did that have to happen to me!"

"It wasn't my fault" Emmett said. "Anyway..." He thought hard, and then, a smile appeared on his face. "What about... a train?"

"A train?" Marty repeated.

"Yeah" Emmett said. "It's the only thing I can think of that exists in this era that could possibly make it to eighty-eight. Well, the only thing here in Hill Valley."

Marty smiled, too. "You know, Emmett... that is an idea." His mood began to brighten, but then he frowned. "But we can't buy a train for something like this. I have no idea how much it would cost, but I'm sure it would be expensive."

"I know, I know" Emmett replied. "But we really have to get home." He thought hard, then smirked. "You don't think we could, uh, _borrow_ a train... do you?"

"Borrow?" Marty repeated, frowning. "Well, I wouldn't want to fare on such a reckless course. Stealing a train is not only wrong, but it's also a very large risk to the space-time continuum."

"It's not like anyone would find out" Emmett said, shrugging. "If all went well, we'd go home, wouldn't we?"

"Certainly, but what if everything _doesn't _go well?" Marty replied. "I want to be prepared for all possibilities, and our plan failing is certainly one. Plus, it would be too dangerous to steal a train. Even if we just took the locomotive, that would still leave dozens of people without a mode of transportation. That could alter history drastically, leading to a very different 1985."

Emmett frowned. "How big is that chance?"

"Quite big, actually" Marty replied. "And even if it was small, I just wouldn't want to take it. Not when there's also another option."

"Have you got another option, then?" Emmett asked.

"Not right now" Marty admitted. "I am sure that I could think of one, though." He frowned again, pacing up and down the room until stopping in front of his friend. "Inform you what, why don't we wait until tomorrow? That way, we will have a night's rest to think about our options."

Emmett sighed. "I thought I was going to get shot on Monday" he muttered.

"That's correct, but, as much as I hate to admit it, I am not in the condition to work on anything major this late in the evening anyway" Marty replied. "Additionally, I am a tad hungry. Aren't you?"

"Perhaps a bit" Emmett replied. "Odd that you should be the one to propose this, though."

"Well, you did teach me a bit about a night's rest and some food giving energy back in 1955" Marty said. "Or, to be accurate, ahead in 1955. That particular detail does not matter anyway. The point is, I am hungry, so are you, so we should probably eat. As much as I'd like to continue the work here, there is no realistic way that it could reach any results that can be used right away. What kind of food have you got around, Emmett?"

The older man shrugged. "Not much" he replied. "Just some bread and ingredients for pancake, although that would take some time to prepare. I was counting on leaving 1885 today, so I purp...purposely let the food run out. Why don't we go to the saloon, and have something to eat there?"

"We could do that" Marty replied. "Do you have the money for it?"

Emmett nodded. "I still have some coins around. Wanted to take them with me to the future initjiallie, but spending them here is okay with me too."

"Yes... especially considering the fact that we don't want them to fall into the wrong hands in 1985" Marty responded. "Having too many antique coins in such a good shape would be suspicious. Going to the saloon would be as good a way of spending them as any. And we could have a look right away at that other idea you proposed, about the alternative fuels. I am still reluctant to test them, but perhaps we could conduct some... indirect experiments, ones that are not as potentially damaging."

"You're the Doc, Marty" Emmett replied.

"Not yet."

"Whatever." Emmett put on his hat. "Come on, let's go to the saloon. Wouldn't want them to close before we get there."

"Exactly" Marty responded, as he followed his friend outside. If he wanted to come up with something good to get them home, having a good meal first was probably a prerequisite.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: See previous. **

_Author's Note: 8/9/2013: This is the next chapter I was talking about. As you can see, it is significantly longer, and it has progress! Emmett and Marty come up with ideas for time travel, go see how it will look in practice, and in the process save a random girl. Of course this will not provide any problems in the future (SPOILER: Yes, it will). Anyway, please read and review. Oh, and sorry for the long gap between these two chapters and the previous updates, and sorry for the future gap between this chapter and the next, which will be inevitable.  
><em>

**12: Chapter Twelve**

The next day, Emmett Brown woke up to the friendly noise of chirping birds. He smiled, as the memories of the past week came back to him. He was no longer alone – he was with Marty, and he was going to get home. Soon. _If_ the work on getting the time machine up to 88 went well. The sixty-five-year-old frowned, as he thought of an unpleasant addition to that condition: _if_ he would not get shot by Buford Tannen on Monday.

While Buford and he had shared a mutual dislike since he'd first entered town (and because Buford was a Tannen, Emmett would have been surprised had it not been the case) the feud had gotten more serious once the whole horse shoeing incident had occurred. He smirked. It was just like a Tannen to blame him for getting angry enough to shoot the horse. If not for the fact that Buford was going to kill him over the matter, it could have been amusing.

The horse dealer stretched his arm, blinked, and finally decided to keep his eyes open. A quick glance at the clock told him it was seven in the morning. Emmett frowned. Marty and he did have other things to do, but that didn't mean that he couldn't get some rest first. Spending just half an hour on that wouldn't hurt, would it?

As he was about to lie down, however, his head was suddenly hit by something hard. The sixty-five-year-old let out a cry of surprise and pain, and then started looking for what had hit him. It turned out to be a small rock, and the source was obvious too. As he looked outside of the window, he could see a horrified boy standing there with a catapult. "I'm sorry, mister Brown!" the boy exclaimed. "I didn't mean to hit ya, I just..."

"It's all right" Emmett cut him off, rubbing his head. He threw the rock back to the boy, who caught it and promptly ran away. The older man looked after him, then frowned as he looked at his bed. He wasn't going to get much sleep anymore either way – he might as well have a look where Marty had gone. As he'd already expected, the bed was empty. Marty never could sleep very long, even in his current ill state.

The teen wasn't that hard to find. As Emmett entered the kitchen portion of the shop, he could see Marty baking some pancakes. The older man frowned. "You really couldn't wait until sometime later to get up?" he said, smiling as he noticed he'd slightly startled the teen – just as well, he had to give him a payback for the day before. "I know we're on a tight schedule, but it's not like it's a school day."

"Well, you know what I always say" Marty said, as he fumbled around somewhat with the pancakes. "Go to bed late and rise early, it takes the most out of your day!"

"And it gives you a lot of exhaustion if you keep it up long" Emmett reminded him. "You didn't seem to be that concerned about wasting time yesterday evening."

"Well, I still had some troubles with that headache" Marty defended himself. "And yesterday morning, I had to run away from a bear. If that doesn't qualify as a reason to go to bed early, I wouldn't know what does. But I'm feeling better now, so..."

"Point made" Emmett replied, not ready to get into an argument with Marty, as he always tended to lose those. He took a seat at the table, as Marty put the pancake on a plate and brought the plate, which already had several pancakes on it, to him. He briefly put some more pancake ingredients into the pan before returning to the table and taking one from the plate.

"You don't look too well yourself either, you know" the teen commented. "Why are you rubbing your head?"

"That's nothing" Emmett ensured him, though he winced a bit at the reminder and stopped the motion. "Some kid hit me with a stone just a few minutes ago."

Marty frowned. "You mean, he came into the shop and threw a stone at your head?" he replied.

"No, it was an accident" Emmett said. "Apparently, he lost control of his catapult and the stone flew through the window, hitting me." He glanced back to the scene of the crime. "That bed is on a real unfortunate position for catapults, I guess."

"Suppose so" Marty replied. "I doubt you ever thought of that, though. It's not a thing that occurs to one every day. But you're right – catapults can project quite some force. It is amazing how they can increase the speed... of... a stone..."

"What's the matter?" Emmett asked, as he saw that Marty didn't move anymore, and instead just was staring into the wall opposite him.

Slowly, the teen began to smile – a unique sort of smile that Emmett had seen on his friend many times before and which had never resulted in good things. "A catapult" he repeated. "Capable of projecting such a force on any solid object it shoots off. Small stones... bricks... mud... _cars_."

For a moment, Emmett was lost. Then, he got what Marty was hinting at. "Marty, you're not... you're not seriously contem...contam..."

"Contemplating" Marty helped.

"...contemplating what I _think _you're contemplating, are you?"

"You mean, using a catapult to bring the time vehicle's speed up to eighty-eight?" Marty replied. Emmett nodded. "As a matter of fact, yes I am. And why not? Provided we get a large catapult, and perhaps some structure from which we can propel the truck into the sky... it might work."

Emmett remained speechless for a few seconds. "Marty, that idea is insane!" he finally exclaimed. "Even you should be able to see that! You can't just send a car into the sky with a _catapult_!"

"And why not, if I may ask?" Marty responded.

"There's so many reasons why not, but let's stick with the obvious" Emmett replied. "Even if the car would hit eighty-eight, it would come down again after being shot off, because of simple gravity, and it would crash."

"That's quite simple to overcome" Marty replied. "We'll simply attach wings to the car."

"Wings?" Emmett repeated.

Some prototype wings that should keep it into the sky would not be that hard to construct with the current material" Marty said. "It would only have to stay up long enough for us to reach eighty-eight miles per hour and land safely, after all."

"If you say so" Emmett replied. "How would you build such a structure in just two days, though?"

"I could manage" Marty responded. "It would be a tight schedule, of course, but it is not like I haven't been under tight schedules before. And you could help me, after I sort out the remaining details. The construction part of the problem does not present any major difficulties one requires scientific knowledge for, after all."

"Well, you're the Doc, Marty" Emmett replied. "Have you got any ideas on where to put this catapult, anyway? I suppose you can't just put the thing inside Hill Valley and expect no one to look at it."

"No, that wouldn't be too smart" Marty said. "It would have to be out in the open. Some place where there is a solid path for the time machine to accelerate on and for the catapult to be built. And it has to be abandoned."

Emmett thought hard. And after a while, he started to smile. "I think I've got a nice place."

oooooooo

"Perfect" Marty said, as he was riding up to the ravine. He smiled from ear to ear. "I hadn't thought you could apply my criteria so well to your knowledge of the current surroundings of Hill Valley, Emmett."

"Well, I'm not _that_ stupid" Emmett said, smirking. "This is about as abandoned as you can get. There aren't any trains coming through here, because the bridge over the ravine won't be finished until 1887."

"I see" Marty said, looking over at the sign near the ravine. "Won't there be any people around to work on the track, though?"

"Not at this time of year" Emmett ensured him. "They're probably having their holidays around now."

"I see" Marty said, thoughtfully. He stared at the sign. "That's remarkable – the ravine is named Shonash Ravine, rather than Clayton Ravine. I thought this was the year it got renamed... must have been later in the year."

"Actually, I believe my wife's ancestor fell in this month" Emmett said, thinking hard. His face suddenly brightened. "You think we can go over and save her?"

Marty shook his head. "We still don't know when she fell in" he reminded his friend. "And it might alter history. Who knows what would happen if miss Clayton – whatever her first name was – would be permitted to live a full life." He shook his head again, getting on the horse. "No, I suppose it's better if we just leave her be."

Emmett nodded, sadly. "You're the Doc, Marty."

"Not yet" Marty reminded him.

"Whatever" Emmett said.

Marty stared at his companion. "Well, aren't you going to get on the horse?" he said. "We don't have much time, after all."

Emmett nodded absent-mindedly. "Yeah, right" he said. "I just thought that... I heard something."

Marty frowned. "I didn't hear anything" he said, trying to listen carefully. There was nothing out of the ordinary – some rustling leaves, chirping birds, and a girl screaming for help.

A girl screaming for help?

"Great Scott!" Marty exclaimed, as the girl screamed again – now clearly audible to both him and Emmett. "There's someone endangered!"

The older man looked around and then nodded. "Over there" he pointed out. "See? Up at Parker Cliff."

As Marty turned to the direction Emmett was pointing at, he could indeed see something human near the highest point of the cliff. She was screaming, and Marty wondered why. He soon found it – as he looked closer, there appeared to be some creatures below her. Rats? Of course not, that wouldn't drive any sensible 19th Century woman up a cliff. Skunks? Even that wouldn't do...

The seventeen-year-old heard his friend getting on the horse. As he looked around, Emmett was looking at him with an anxious expression on his face. "Come on, Marty!" he urged. "We have to rescue her!"

Marty looked at him, reluctant. "I just told you we couldn't rescue miss Clayton, Emmett" he said. "For the same reason, we can't rescue this girl either. It would endanger the space-time continuum."

"Marty McFly!" Emmett exclaimed, angry. "I swear, sometimes you're too embroiled in science to actually use your mind the right way! Don't you see? If that woman is driven back anymore by whatever she is facing, she might fall off the cliff!"

Indeed, as Marty looked at the cliff, that appeared to be a valid possibility. Marty shuddered. If that woman fell off the cliff... thundered to her death several feet below... and he simply stood watching...

"You're right, Emmett" Marty said, urging his horse to run towards the cliff. He knew that it might be bad for the space-time continuum... but this was a _human being_, and it was happening_ right in front of him_. He could never let her fall into the cliff. As much as it sounded absolutely irrational, he just felt they had the responsibility to rescue this woman. Or at least, to try.

Marty and Emmett quickly arrived at the scene, where the teenager got a better view of the proceedings. On the cliff were a couple of large, threatening rattlesnakes, which hissed menacingly towards the girl. She wasn't falling off yet, but she had arrived at a narrower part, and Marty thought he could hear the stone creaking below her feet.

Wasting no time, the time travellers gathered sticks and started to assault the snakes. The creatures turned their attention towards them and fought back, one nearly biting Marty in his heel. Luckily, Emmett managed to kill one of them (or at least knock him out, Marty couldn't tell) and that drove the others to retreat. They crept off the cliff, past the horses and into the countryside.

The girl – for it was a girl, not a woman – appeared to be relieved, but as she tried to step towards them, the earth suddenly creaked below her. Frightened, she tried to hurry up and get down the cliff, but it was too late. The top of the cliff collapsed under her and the girl fell down.

Acting on instinct, Marty moved into action. Throwing all caution into the wind, he jumped forwards and fell on the ground, but he narrowly managed to seize a hold on both of the girl's arms. Relieved that she hadn't fallen, Marty lay still for a moment, frightened that the earth below him might creak too and that they both would fall into the ravine. Then, he looked at the face of the person he'd rescued – and nearly let go of her.

Facing him was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was roughly his age and height, had gorgeous brown eyes and nice long hair. Marty stood perplexed for a moment, before remembering where he was. He helped the girl onto the cliff, not taking an eye off her as he did so. Only then he remembered an introduction might be needed. "Mar, uh, Albert Einstein at your service," he mumbled, "miss..."

"Um, um, Parker" the girl said. "Clara – Clara Parker."

"Clara" Marty said, smiling. "What a beautiful name."


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: As I was born nine years after the Back to the Future movies were made, and possess neither enough money to buy the rights or a time machine to head back to before they became popular and acquire the rights there, the appropriate conclusion is that I do not own Back to the Future. **

_Author's Note: Yet another chapter, with yet another disclaimer and yet another Author's Note. Now, I am aware that expressing this sort of weariness isn't exactly the way to make a story appeal to people, but you'll just have to deal with that. Anyway, this is about Marty McFly and Clara Parker interacting, mostly, and Emmett getting concerned. Please read and review!  
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**13: Chapter Thirteen**

In Emmett's mind, it seemed to take an eternity before Marty and Clara finally got their acts together and they set off towards Hill Valley. During the journey, the two of them kept gazing at each other all the time, and even Emmett, who had never seen his friend like this before and would have laughed off the suggestion that it would ever happen, could not deny it. Marty had a crush on a girl, and it was one which was returned.

When they arrived in town, miss Parker could barely pull her acts together and remember where she was actually headed. That turned out to be the Palace Saloon. "I'm from Sacramento" she explained. "After my boyfriend left me, I needed to spend some time in an isolated area to rest. So I travelled to Hill Valley, but when I was riding here from the station, a few snakes spooked my horse and he threw me off. I landed all right, but the snakes soon tried to attack me."

Marty nodded. "Those snakes are terrifying out here" he agreed. "I'm glad you came out without a scratch, miss Parker – Clara."

At that point, Emmett decided to cut their conversation short as they had arrived at their destination. Clara's horse, which they had managed to retrieve from a field near the cliff, was unpacked and though Marty insisted on helping carry her belongings to her room, Clara told them it was not necessary, and Emmett gladly complied. "We have other things to do after all" he reminded Marty.

"Right, right" the teen said, a little annoyed. "Goodbye, Clara."

"Goodbye, Albert" Clara replied. "I'd like to thank you for everything you have done for me, but I'm afraid I have barely enough money to pay the rent of this hotel."

"That's not necessary" Marty ensured her. "It was no trouble at all."

"All right" Clara said. "Will I see you two again tonight at the festival?"

Emmett winced. He'd all but forgotten about the festival. "Well, we're kind of busy" he began, but Marty cut him off. "We could find some time" he told Clara. "We'll see you tonight, then."

"See you tonight, at the festival" Clara repeated. She waved, as Marty and Emmett got on their horses and rode back to the stable.

When Clara was out of hearing range, Emmett turned towards Marty with a mixture of anger and confusion. "We can't go to the festival tonight!" he insisted. "You have to build that catapult!"

"Well, the main scheme is pretty far along already" Marty said. "We could use a pause in our work, too. We still have a few hours to go anyway."

"I suppose" Emmett said, then adding under his breath: "Good thing you didn't tell her where we lived, or we wouldn't have those hours either."

Unfortunately, Marty had overheard him, and frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you were looking at miss Parker as if you wanted to spend the rest of the day with her" Emmett replied. "We can't have that, Marty, and you know it. I know it sounds a bit selfish, but I'll be shot on Monday. That's two days away. If we're not out of here by then..." He shivered.

"I know that, Emmett" Marty said, annoyed. "I just don't see what the harm is in a small conversation with miss Parker. We couldn't just walk away after saving her from falling off Parker Cliff." He smiled, but his smile faded the moment his brain made the connection. "_Great Scott!_"

Emmett gasped. "Parker Cliff was renamed shortly after the ravine itself was" he whispered. "In September, 1885."

"That's this month" Marty whispered, his face pale. "Great Scott... then she was supposed to fall off that cliff! Now I may have seriously altered history."

"Come on, Marty" Emmett responded. "It's not that bad. There's only the name change after all. Now they might name the cliff after my in-law, too. Let's just get to work again."

Marty sighed. "We have altered history" he muttered, darkly. "Things will never be the same again." With those words, he went off his horse and pulled it into the stable, leaving a confused Emmett behind.

oooooooo

"Emmett, it's ready! Come on, you have to see this!"

Emmett looked up from his dinner preparations to stare at his friend. "You completed your model?" he guessed.

Marty nodded. "Took me some work, but at least now I've got a clear path to follow" he said, with an enthusiasm that made clear he'd all but forgotten his earlier pessimism. "And I've got all the construction materials for the real thing too, so all we have to do is finish the work and move it to the train spur tomorrow. But come on, you have to see this!"

The older man sighed, and let Marty guide him towards the corner of the shop he'd set up as a lab. "You really haven't changed since 1955" he muttered, remembering how Marty had acted after creating the Courthouse Square model then.

However, just like that time in 1955, he could not avoid being impressed when he looked at what the seventeen-year-old inventor had built. The model was smaller this time, limited to only the spur, but the details were even more refined. The train tracks which they would put the time truck on were clearly recognisable, located on a miniature of Parker – Shonash Cliff. Marty had insisted on that, as it would reduce the amount of ascent the slope he'd build would need, and Emmett knew better than to argue with his friend on that. On the tracks a small model time machine stood, with the name 'time truck' written on it as if Marty had been afraid either of them might forget what it was for. The wooden slope was in front of it, and a regular catapult had been used to represent what its larger equivalent would hopefully do in two days' time.

"How does it work?" Emmett finally asked, looking at it from all sides.

"Fairly easy" Marty said. "Here's the vehicle, on the track, in-between the catapult and the slope. It moves backwards inside the catapult, bringing it in a tense state. We use our remaining fuel for that. When the machine can not be moved back anymore, we'll deploy a large rock to keep it there. We get inside, remove the rock and the catapult will shoot off the car, causing it to go up the slope and be sent into the air. I have calculated that with the size of the catapult I am planning to use, we should be able to get the car so far into the sky that it will easily reach 88 miles per hour, either when ascending or when dropping."

"Great safe plan" Emmett said, not without a hint of sarcasm. "But how are we supposed to remove that rock while in the car?"

"That's where you come in" Marty said. "You know how to use a board with wheels that transports people, often teenagers, after the occupant's foot has kicked it off?"

"A skateboard" Emmett translated. "Yeah, why?"

"Because you'll need the knowledge" Marty said. "I managed to convert a piece of iron into the shape of the object I just mentioned and attached the remaining parts of the hover conversion to it. It should be able to lift you up at least a moderate distance."

"So?" Emmett asked. "What has that got to do with the rock?"

"Inside the time vehicle, I will hold a rope that is attached to the iron bar" Marty said. "You'll simply hover over, take the rock – not by hand, of course, but I will solve that issue – and I will pull you back."

Emmett stared at him for a moment, contemplating it. "That doesn't sound like a very safe plan."

"It's the best I could come up with" Marty replied. "But if you really don't want to, I suppose I could do it. I just don't think I can use it well enough."

"I'll teach you" Emmett said. "Not to be a coward – well, I suppose I'm being one now, but anyway – I would be too nervous anyway. Every time I do something on which a lot depends, I'm extremely worried I do it wrong. I just wish you'd discard this entire plan."

"I can't" Marty said. "We don't have any reasonable alternative that won't alter the continuum significantly. But if you think of anything else, let me know."

Emmett nodded, sighing. "Right" he muttered. "Come on, let's eat dinner."

oooooooo

"Ladies and gentlemen!" shouted mayor Hubert. "As mayor of Hill Valley, it gives me great pleasure to dedicate this clock to the people of Hill County! May it stand for all time!" He smiled and looked over at the crowd. "Tell me when, gentlemen!"

"Three" the crowd responded. "Two...one...now!"

As fireworks shot into the sky and music began to play, the mayor then started the clock. "Let the festivities begin!" he exclaimed.

A couple of feet away from the scene, Marty McFly couldn't help a smile. "Quite remarkable that we turned out to be present at this event, isn't it?" he told Emmett. "Although you were here in the original timeline too, as the photograph showed."

"Yeah, that's right" Emmett said, sighing wistfully. "It's like it was yesterday when I was climbing in front of that clock trying to get the ropes all fixed, and when I saw it get struck by lightning. Of course, in reality, it's been thirty years already."

"Well, actually it's seventy years in the times that have yet to come from the world's current perspective" Marty corrected him. "We're in 1885, after all."

"True, true" Emmett replied. "But it's still a strange thought." He suddenly grinned, as he saw a flash. "Looks like that is how my other self posed with the clock" he said, pointing at a photographer taking a picture. "Fancy repli... replicating him?"

"It might alter history" Marty said, thoughtfully. "I must admit the thought is tempting, but there might be risks involved if that photograph accidentally ends up in the wrong hands."

"Come on, Marty" Emmett said. "Don't be such a square."

"I don't understand what being a rectangular mathematical figure with all sides being equal in length has to do with me not wishing to pose for that photograph."

Emmett rolled his eyes. "Marty... please. You don't know whether posing for a simple photograph could cause trouble – it didn't for me in the original timeline. We could at least try."

"We could" Marty admit. "I don't like the thought of it, though."

"Come on" Emmett urged. "It's just the one time, after all."

"Oh, all right then" Marty muttered. "But if we do get in trouble with it, remember that it was your idea."

oooooooo

A few minutes later, Marty and Emmett were standing in front of the clock. "It really is too bad we can't show anyone this, you know" Emmett said.

"There's nothing we can do about it" Marty replied, before he smiled as the camera took their picture.

After the photograph was taken, they marched back to the dance floor, as the band was starting to play some music. Marty was impressed – it was not quite like the 1980s standard he was used to, but it wasn't that bad either. He could come to like this era. Well... some aspects of it, at least. Mostly, he just wanted to return home so he had all his tools again. A strange depressed feeling suddenly hit him as he thought of that. There were interesting things here for sure, but nothing was even the slightest bit comparable or superior to what was around in 1985.

Well, there was _one_ exception...

Marty grinned, as he spotted the familiar figure of Clara Parker on the other side of the dance floor. After glancing over his shoulder to check on Emmett – who was just looking the other way – he approached Clara. She saw him as he got closer to her, and smiled at him.

"Good phase of the day where the sun appears to be descending" Marty said, suddenly feeling shy.

"Good evening to you too" Clara replied, frowning at his choice of words for a moment but dismissing it as unimportant. She glanced into his eyes, and Marty felt nervous. He wondered what he should do. He kind of wanted to dance with her, but...

Fortunately, Clara was the one to pop the question. "Would you like to... do you mind... could you take me on a dance?" she asked him.

Marty nodded, wondering if he was appearing too eager. He did feel nervous. It reminded him of his first trip to 1955 when he had been forced to go to the dance with his mother. He remembered relaying his inability to dance to her, and as during that night, he had never gotten around to a dance, his abilities had not improved since. "I'm not sure if I could" he admitted, speaking softly. "I'd like to, but I'm not a great dancer."

"It's all right" Clara said. "I'm not really experienced either." She took his hand and led him closer to the centre of the dance floor. As the music then started playing again, they bowed, and started to dance.

Though the music wasn't hard to dance on, Marty found himself constantly stumbling over his feet. Granted, the origin of that might have been more him concentrating on Clara rather than his own troubles with dancing. She looked beautiful in her 19th Century dress. The teen could not remember ever encountering a girl comparable to her that was willing to spend time with him. This was shaping up to be the best night of his life.

oooooooo

Emmett Brown shook his head. Those stupid travelling merchants, thinking they'd just be able to sell everyone a gun. Granted, against Buford Tannen, he might need one, but he had no plans on just buying a weapon. He had, after all, never been the violent type. Chuckling at the idea of himself with a gun, he turned to Marty. "Hey Marty..."

Emmett frowned. The teen was – gone. Sure enough, where his best friend had once been was now nothing more than empty space. Confused, the sixty-five-year-old scanned the crowd for a trace of where his friend might have gone off to.

He soon found it. On the other side of the dance floor, Marty was holding the hands of a young girl Emmett instantly recognized as Clara Parker. Before he could think or say a thing about it, the two started to dance slowly to the festival music.

The horse dealer shook his head once more. Sure, he was hardly the right person to tell Marty what to do in matters concerning time travel, but he just felt concerned about his friend. The thought of Marty getting involved so close with a girl from the past, no matter how nice she was, caused him to feel insecure. Certainly, Marty would probably know very well how far he could go, but the way he was going now, Emmett suspected the teen had loosened his judgement somewhat. A not-so-clever decision, considering the fact that they would have to leave in two days' time and that Buford Tannen was after him.

Emmett shrugged. Well, there wasn't anything to do about it now. Best let Marty enjoy the festivities tonight, and then talk about it tomorrow. He walked over to the refreshment tables, hoping that there would be someone for him to chat with. After all, he did have some friendly acquaintances in 1880s Hill Valley.

As he was pondering that, he suddenly spotted Seamus McFly and his wife Maggie standing on the other side of the table. Maggie was carrying little William. Emmett smiled. He had heard Marty's side of the story that had happened a few days ago, but it might be interesting to hear for himself exactly what had happened between them. And perhaps they would be able to put his mind at rest regarding Marty and Clara...

He walked over, and Seamus noticed him. "Ah, good evening, Emmett" he greeted him. "How are you doing tonight?"

"Fine, Seamus" Emmett replied. "A bit concerned about my friend, um, Albert Einstein."

"Ah, yes, him" Seamus said. "We met when he passed our farm on his way into town. I presume he's told you about that." Emmett nodded. "I see. He's a nice fellow, but he appeared to be a little... strange."

The sixty-five-year-old smiled. "Yes, Albert isn't quite like everybody else" he admitted. "That's part of what I like about him... though I'm afraid that he's changing now. Dancing with that Clara girl isn't what I'd expect from him."

"Who?" Maggie asked.

Emmett pointed at the dance floor. "Miss Clara Parker. We saved her life from a couple of snakes earlier today, and Mar-Albert has been hanging around with her a lot since. We do have Buford Tannen to worry about, you know."

Seamus nodded. "Well, I'm sure that a little dance won't hurt anybody" he said. "And while Tannen is a dangerous man, he hasn't shot me yet – despite the fact that he hates me. The situation is troublesome, but I am confident your friend will be able to set his priorities straight and see what is the right thing to do for him."

"I hope so" Emmett muttered. "Nice talking to you, Seamus. I suppose I'll talk to you again some time."

Seamus nodded. "Have a nice evening."

Emmett nodded, and walked off into the relative quiet of the fields behind the Courthouse. It was nice to talk with the people of 1885 who liked or at least respected him, but sometimes he got the sudden impulse to be away from other people. To be alone, so that he could think about the issue at hand – Marty.

Despite his friendship with the teen that had lasted for eight years, he still didn't understand Marty McFly. He had never expected him to behave so irrationally and let himself be charmed by a random 1880s girl. With a wry smile, Emmett remembered the 'soul mate' conversation Marty had apparently had with his younger self and with his parents, back in 1955. Little had Marty known that very soon thereafter, he would in fact be in love.

In love. Was that what it was? It pretty much had to be. Marty was certainly showing all the symptoms of being in love. Emmett recognized how he had felt when he'd first met Jennifer, and ordinarily, he would be very happy for his friend. Now, though, he wasn't so happy. They were a hundred years in the past, and there was a very dangerous Buford Tannen around with a gun.

As Emmett had barely finished that thought, he suddenly felt something poking into his ribs and a hot, nasty breath against his head. Instinctively, he raised his hands.

"Didn't I tell you to watch your back, smithy?" Buford Tannen taunted.

"Tannen" Emmett whispered. "You – you're early."

"It's a Derringer smithy" Buford hissed. "Small but effective. Last time I shot a fellow, it took him two whole _days _to die. Bled to dead inside, it was _real_ painful." He moved closer, as his gang chuckled behind them. "Means you'll be dead by about suppertime Monday."

Monday. The day he would die according to the tombstone. Emmett nearly cursed himself for not thinking about this possibility. He wouldn't die until Monday, yes, but today he'd get shot. And there was no way he would get back to the future in time to be saved.

Emmett groaned. Where was Marty McFly when you needed him?


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything, except owning Back to the Future, which you really shouldn't try to do. **

_Author's Note: Here I am again, and with a rather short chapter. To compensate, I decided to upload two, so congratulations, I guess. This one deals with stuff happening in continuation from the last chapter. If you don't like it, complain if you want, but please mention to me what exactly you didn't like so I can, you know, correct it.  
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**14: Chapter Fourteen**

After a few minutes of dancing with Clara, Marty could not avoid stumbling over his feet as they passed another pair. He nearly fell over, but regained his balance just in time by holding onto a food stand. The teen blushed fiercely, wishing Clara wasn't laughing at him.

"Come on, Albert" she told him. "Perhaps we shouldn't dance after all. There are enough other things to enjoy here."

Marty nodded, relieved. "You're right" he said. "We're supposed to have fun, after all – and constantly stumbling over my feet isn't fun." He escorted her off the dance floor and they headed over to the refreshment tables. There were all sorts of snacks – or at least, what might be considered snacks in the 1880s – including some pie. Marty had just taken a piece of it when he noticed a familiar presence nearby.

"Good evening, Mr. Einstein" Seamus McFly said. "I see you found someone to dance with?"

"Yeah, I certainly have" Marty said, grinning. "This is Clara Parker. Emmett and I saved her from falling into Shonash Ravine this afternoon." He turned to Clara. "Clara, this is Seamus McFly... he's, uh, a friend of Emmett's."

"Pleased to meet you" Clara said.

"Likewise" Seamus replied, before turning to Marty. "I heard about the incident. Your friend Emmett told me some things about it. Maggie and I just spoke to him a few minutes ago."

"Emmett?" Marty repeated. "Come to think of it, I was a little unsure where he had gone. Would you happen to know, Mr. McFly?"

"Not for sure" Seamus replied. "I saw him walk away from the festival just after we talked. I think he went to the field behind the Courthouse."

Marty frowned. "Why would he do that?" he muttered. He'd thought Emmett would have liked the festival, given the fact that his friend was a lot more into these social things than he was. Perhaps he had misjudged him, though... and he supposed he could understand that Emmett was getting bored. After all, his friend didn't have Jennifer with him, unlike how he had Clara.

Just after he thought that, Marty felt a blush creeping up his cheek. Of course the relationship between Emmett and Jennifer was in no way similar to the one between him and Clara! He and Clara were just friends, after all. And they were from different time periods, so they couldn't even have a... a... relationship.

Yet, Marty had to admit his heart fluttered every time he looked at Clara Parker. It was just like he wasn't able to think straight anymore, and he felt tempted to throw his scientific knowledge into the wind just to stay with her a little while more... _"Great Scott, what's happening to me!" _

"I wouldn't know" Seamus then replied, and it actually took Marty a while to remember what question he had asked that Seamus was replying to. "I know your friend was worried about Buford Tannen, so it's kind of strange that he went off. In this secluded area, Tannen wouldn't be able to kill him so easily, but out in the field..."

As Seamus spoke like that, Marty suddenly felt a chill go through his body. It was like he knew, somehow, that something was happening that very moment. He tried to give a reassuring look to Clara, but failed to look convincing. Despite his mind pointing out to him that there was no rationale on which to conclude that something was wrong, he just knew that there was.

oooooooo

Emmett blinked, as he was breathing fast. This was it. Buford Tannen was still breathing into his neck, but he had taken some distance. "When I want to shoot you, I want to do it right" he had told him. The horse dealer just winced. Why did this have to happen to him? He'd be dead, unless he thought of something very, very fast.

And thinking had, unfortunately, never been Emmett's area of exper... expar... expertise. He usually left it up to Marty, who was certainly good at it – after all, the teen had thought up some quite clever plans during their previous adventures. Like when he had played that trick on Biff's gang, on the stairs of Biff's Pleasure Paradise. Of course, there weren't any stairs around for Emmett to use now. This was all open country, and unless he thought of something very quick, it was going to be the last thing he'd see in his life.

"Buford?" Emmett asked, weakly, as his mind raced. He had to stall Tannen, keep him occupied while he thought of something. It had to be a simple plan, as right now, he had no time to conduct something hard – and he probably couldn't do it anyway.

"_Of course."_Emmett looked around as Buford stared at him, daring him to pop the question he wanted to ask. "Uh, I know this probably isn't the right time for this, but..." He frowned. "Hey, is that a poisonous snake near your leg?"

Buford, being a gullible Tannen, reacted precisely as Emmett had predicted – he yelped and jumped up. Taking advantage of the distraction, Emmett kicked Buford's gun out of his hand and, before the others could grab him, he made a run for it. Within a few moments (with time being wasted because of the darkness making it hard to see anything), Buford had found his gun back and he and his gang were chasing after him. Emmett tried to ignore the noise of their horses and their yells, and concentrated on running as fast as he could, back to the festival. He knew that he had to stay out of shooting distance if he wanted to be safe – Buford had told him there was only one bullet in the gun, so he probably wasn't going to waste it.

Nearly out of his breath, Emmett reached the festival, and ran through the crowds. For a moment, it looked like he was getting away, but when he looked over his shoulder for just a brief moment, he suddenly found himself running into a wooden board. He couldn't have been unconscious for more than a few seconds, but when he came to and stood up, dizzy from the fall, he found that A – the music had stopped, B – everyone was looking at him, and C – Buford Tannen was standing in front of him and had his gun pointed straight forwards.

Buford growled. "You'll be sorry you humiliated me like that" he muttered, darkly. "Prepare to meet your maker blacksmith." He pulled the trigger...

...when out of a sudden a Frisbee flew onto the scene and kicked Buford's gun out of his hand.

Emmett, incredibly relieved and confused, looked at the direction the Frisbee had come from and instantly saw Marty standing there. The teen took a step forwards, shaking with anger. "Don't you know it's not nice to shoot people?"

For a moment, Buford just looked at him. Then, recognition dawned on his face. "Albert Einstein" he growled. "You better have something better than a pie plate if you want to mess with my business."

"Since you were shooting at my friend, I believe it was my business as well" Marty snapped. "I do not particularly like resorting to violence, but when it comes to types like you..."

"Ah, so you think you're better than me, don't you?" Buford said. "Why don't you come over and prove it in a fight?"

"I don't need to prove anything" Marty said. "Just leave my friend alone."

"What's the matter?" Buford asked. "You yellow?"

Marty shook his head. "No, just not stupid" he replied. "Come on, Emmett. Let's get out of here."

As Emmett walked over to Marty, Buford went red with anger. "Listen, you little gutter trash, if you think you can get away with this..."

"Break it up!" a familiar voice then came. Buford, Marty and Emmett looked up to see Marshall Strickland. "You causing trouble here, Tannen?"

"No trouble, Marshall" Buford said, in his friendliest voice. "Just a little personal matter between me, and _Einstein_." He glared at Marty as he said that. "Nothing that concerns the law."

"Tonight everything concerns the law" Strickland said. "Now break it up. Any brawling, that's fifteen days in the county jail." He then looked around at the people. "All right, folks, this is a party! Come on, let's have some fun!"

The marshall then walked off. Buford glared at Marty one more time. "I'm going to get you for that, you know" he told him.

Marty gave him a confident glare. Buford, barely restraining his anger, gave the teen one more disgusted look before heading off.

"Thanks, Marty" Emmett whispered, as Buford had gone. "That was a real close one."

"It certainly was" Clara said. "You were really brave, Marty."

Marty blushed. "It wasn't much" he said. "Emmett was in danger and, well, I did what anyone would have done."

"Then still" Clara said, putting a hand on Marty's shoulder. Emmett, though most of his mind was still on the little detail that he'd just been nearly shot to death, managed a wince. This was not good.

"Well, thank you" Marty said, noticing that the crowd was dispersing around them and some were leaving. "Do you want to go, or did you intend to stay for a while more?"

Clara shrugged. "I suppose there's not much more keeping me here" she said. "It is getting late already... almost nine, if the new clock still works."

"Considering it only has been an hour, I doubt it broke down" Marty said. "But yes, I agree with you. Do you mind me escorting you to your apartment?"

Clara blushed. "That would be very gentlemanly of you, Albert."

"My pleasure" Marty responded.

Emmett knew he had to intercede now or things would get out of hand. He thus selected the one course of action that, while not going as far as he wished, would at least keep the two teenagers separated. "I'll accompany you" he said.

"What?" Marty said, shocked. "Emmett, that would be nice of you, but it's really not necessary. I don't want to keep you off your work and any other things you might have planned for tonight."

"That's quite all right" Emmett said, trying to appear casual. "I hadn't got anything in mind, and well, if you're going, then I can't do much either, can I?"

Marty grimaced at the point Emmett was making. "Fair enough" he admitted. "All right then, if Clara is fine with it, I suppose you could accompany us to her lodgings."

Clara nodded, and Emmett couldn't help a smile. While he disliked the whole personal rivalry this affair was creating between him and Marty, he didn't mind the fact that he came out on top for once. Tonight, there wasn't going to be any dangerous escalation of the relationship between Marty and Clara. He would make sure of that.


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, together with Universal Studios, probably do own Back to the Future, but I don't. Remember the days where I was still saying sort-of-funny stuff here? Yeah, i remember them too. *sighs* If anybody has ideas, let me know. **

_Author's Note: And the second chapter. Deals with the events of September 6th 1885. The plot is thickening! Will Marty and Emmett make it home? Take a look at the story summary to find out! Or just read this chapters and the upcoming ones, I guess. Let's see, it's October 14th 2013 now, so the next chapter should be here at... I don't know. Just read this one and enjoy yourself with/cringe at that for a while, okay? And please review. Reviews are very much appreciated, and when you've got a question, I will try to answer it.  
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**15: Chapter Fifteen**

The next day, Emmett woke up with a smile on his face. Tomorrow, they would be going home, and today, they would be making preparations for it. Better still, it looked like the whole issue regarding Clara Parker was also in the past. That night, he and Marty had only stayed for a short while at her apartment, and when they got back, Marty had plunged right back into his scientific work without even seeming to give the girl in question a mere thought.

Now he had awoken, though, he wondered whether he hadn't carried his mission out too far. Despite the fact that it was only 7:30 AM, he could hear Marty working on the time machine like he had been when Emmett had gone to bed. He wondered whether his friend had had any sleep that night.

The horse dealer/blacksmith yawned and got off his bed. They had some work to do today – it was no use lying there thinking about what might and what might not have happened tonight, and he could just ask his friend anyway. He got dressed, then walked towards the 'kitchen' department of his shop to prepare some food.

As he was preparing his breakfast, he looked around to see Marty's face poking out of the truck. "Ah, Emmett" he said. "Good to see you're awake."

"I can't say the same about you" Emmett replied, chewing on some dry bread with some butter – no great meal, but since they were leaving in one day, he hadn't bothered to go to shops in town to buy filling. "Have you been at work here all night?"

Marty's face reddened with a blush. "Not _all _night" he said. "I can assure you that I have had some hours of sleep. It is just that, well, I had a hard time falling asleep anyway, so I went up repeatedly to work some more on the vehicle. Then this morning, I woke up early as usual. I curse, my sleeping pattern always includes me waking up at the same time no matter what residence – or time – I inhibit. It's very fascinating." He patted the car. "Anyway, I think I've accomplished most of the work tonight and this morning. I still need to fetch some items for the catapult, but after that, assembling it should be a piece of a sweetened and enriched bakery dessert which is usually served as a treat on special days, primarily including birthdays."

"Whatever" Emmett muttered. "So, it's almost done?"

"It should be" Marty said. "We spent quite some time on it together, I thought this through as well as I could..." He shrugged. "If this, or at least the finished product, isn't good enough, I don't know what is."

Emmett nodded, swallowing a piece of bread that had been sticking against the top of his mouth. He then noticed some odd shaped wooden constructs with some kind of blanket on them. "What's that?"

Marty looked around. "Oh, that" he said, casually. "It's – or rather, they're – my wings."

"Your... what now?" Emmett said.

"Wings" Marty repeated. "Remember what you told me about the car simply crashing down after hitting eighty-eight? These wings should keep the vehicle in the air once we send it off with the catapult. Considering the size of the catapult and the grade of the slope, we should theoretically be capable of reaching eighty-eight without them, and I doubt they're very effective, but we can at least try. I've even taken a good look at the remnants of the flying circuits for this purpose. They look like they can support the car in the sky for a few moments, but I wouldn't count on them doing so for a longer time. It's very little help, I admit, but all together I am confident we have enough time to land safely in 1985."

"Sure" Emmett said, dazed. "I see you've got this all well-prepared."

Marty nodded, smirking. "I've even got two crude parachutes, just in case all goes wrong. Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

Then, they heard a strange knocking noise. Marty and Emmett exchanged glances and frowned. "Wonder who that is" Emmett said, walking over to the door.

A quick peek through the door told him enough. "It's Clara!" he hissed, shocked.

"Clara?" Marty repeated. "Great Scott! Quick, cover the temporal field warping and displacement vehicle!"

Emmett and Marty rapidly put a blanket over the car, and Marty went to open the door. "Why, hello" he said, appearing shy.

"Hello" Clara replied. "I hope I'm not disturbing anything..."

"Not at all" Marty ensured her. "We were just... playing... with some... some..."

"...some wooden construction" Emmett finished. "Well, it's not finished yet, but we were working on it. One of Marty's inventions."

"Nothing major, though" Marty told Clara. "You're welcome to come here."

"Thank you" Clara replied. "I wasn't intending on coming here today, but it's just that my telescope has been damaged... it was in my bag when the snakes assaulted me."

"I thought the bag was on your horse" Emmett said, confused. "And it seemed to be all right."

Clara looked uncomfortable. "Come to think of it, I had my telescope on me" she corrected. "Anyway, it was damaged when the snakes assaulted me, and I'd like you to take a look at it... if you have the time. I would pay you, of course..."

"That's not necessary at all" Marty responded. "For such a minor task, I wouldn't dare to ask money from you." Clara handed him the telescope, and he had a look at it. "Hmm... what's the exact problem?"

"I think the lens might be out of alignment," Clara said, standing beside him and helping him with the device, "because when you turn it one way, the image turns fuzzy, see?" Marty nodded. "But when you turn it... when you turn it the other way..."

"...everything becomes clear" Marty finished. By the time he ended his sentence, though, neither he or Clara were paying attention to the telescope – instead, they were staring at each other.

Emmett frowned, and then coughed to draw their attention. Embarrassed, Marty and Clara separated. "I'll work on it today, and I should be able to return it to you by tonight" Marty said.

"Thank you" Clara said, smiling. "For taking care of my telescope." She headed out after another brief staring contest.

Emmett looked after her, then closed the door. He let out a sigh. "Well, that was a bunch of nonsense" he muttered.

Marty looked up, annoyed. "What is that supposed to mean, Emmett?" he asked.

Emmett sighed. "Marty, you know as well as I do that she didn't have her telescope on her when the snakes assaulted her" he said. "We looked into the bag after the incident, and I'm nearly one hundred percent certain the telescope was inside. It couldn't have been damaged by those snakes. That lens thing is either something that was already there, or something that the telescope is supposed to do. I don't know much about telescopes, Marty... but I would guess it's the second thing."

"Nonsense" Marty replied. "Then what would she come here for?"

"Flirting with you" Emmett said, bluntly. "Marty, I've said this before and I'll tell you again, we have to leave tomorrow! Buford Tannen is..."

A knock on the door of the shop ended his tirade mid-sentence. Marty frowned. "Your shop is quite busy today, Emmett."

"Suppose so" Emmett agreed, confused. He smirked. "Maybe it's Clara, here to ask you how the repairs on the telescope are going."

Marty rolled his eyes. "Yeah right" he muttered, walking over to the shop door and opening it. Marshall Strickland was standing there, carrying his rifle. "Good phase of the day where the sun appears to be rising, Marshall" Marty greeted. He turned around. "Emmett! It's Marshall Strickland!"

Marshall Strickland shook his head. "Don't bother, Mr. Einstein" he said. "I wished to speak to you."

Marty frowned. "To me? Why?"

"Last night, you angered Buford Tannen at the festival by throwing that pie plate" Marshall Strickland said. "I've known him for a very long time now, and if there's anything Buford Tannen will do, it's holding a grudge. He will come after you, sooner or later. You'd better watch your back, Mr. Einstein."

Marty's eyes went wide. "I refused his dare" he protested. "I told him clearly that I shall not fight him."

"For Tannen, that won't matter at all" Marshall Strickland said, with a sigh. "You angered him, he comes after you. That's the way it is for him. Many men have underestimated him and died. You shouldn't make the same mistake."

Marty gulped. "I won't" he stammered.

"Good" Marshall Strickland said. "Have a nice day, Mr. Einstein, Emmett." He nodded politely to both of them, then exited the shop.

Marty shivered, as Marshall Strickland closed the door. "Great Scott" he whispered, stunned. "I suppose I should have known, but..." He turned to Emmett. "Could you fetch that photograph of your tombstone for me?"

Emmett nodded, and headed over to the place he knew Marty had hid it, in his jacket's pocket. As he looked at it, the sixty-five-year-old was pleasantly surprised to see his name gone. "It's getting erased!" he pronounced, triumphantly.

Marty did not share his view. "The _name_ is erased" he corrected him. "The tombstone itself and the date remain intact." He started pacing up and down. "We know this photograph represents what _will_ happen if the events of today continue to run their course into tomorrow."

"You mean, someone will still die tomorrow?" Emmett whispered. Marty nodded. "And that might be... you?" Another nod. "Great Scott!"

"I know, this is heavy" Marty replied. "You were right, though – we should get the time vehicle prepared as soon as possible. Tomorrow morning, we have to get out of this era." He shuddered. "The thought of actually dying... time travel is dangerous, and not only due to paradoxes. Makes me want to do the same thing my older self did – destroy the time machine."

"Yeah, considering the situation, I can't blame you" Emmett agreed. He frowned. "Wait a second... _what your older self did_? I thought you didn't encounter your older self during your trip to 2015?"

Marty blushed. "Actually, I did" he confessed. "During _our_ trip. Remember when you were fetching your wallet?"

"Of course I do" Emmett agreed. "I remember you being a bit shaken afterwards. Did you really speak to your future self? What did he say!"

"Well, I..." Marty began. He then shook his head, stubborn and determined. "I can't tell you. Time travel is dangerous, we can't go randomly altering things you're not happy with!"

"_I'm_ not happy with?" Emmett repeated. "So you spoke about me?"

Marty's groan made it obvious that that was indeed the answer. "Maybe I _should_ have had some more sleep last night" the teen muttered. "I keep making mistakes like this."

Emmett walked over to him and stared Marty deep into his eyes. "What was I not happy with, Marty?" he asked. "What is wrong with my future?"

Marty looked at him and shook his head. "Emmett..." he muttered. "We all have to make decisions that effect the course of our lives. You've got to do what you've got to do. And I've got to do... what I've _got _to do. For the sake of the continuum."

Emmett felt confused, as Marty walked back to the car. He didn't have a clue what his friend was talking about. However, he did have a feeling he'd find out. Soon.

oooooooo

That evening, Marty McFly leaned against the time vehicle. He and Emmett had finally managed to get everything finished. The car had been transported to the railroad tracks and the catapult had been built. They were ready for tomorrow. Or at least, they appeared to be.

But what they had physically, Marty lacked emotionally. His mind told him they were going back tomorrow, which was all very well. However, that meant they had to do one thing, one thing he, deep inside of his heart, couldn't bear the thought of – leave Clara behind.

He couldn't leave her. Clara had stirred feelings inside his heart that he never knew he had. Feelings of love, of passion, of attraction. He'd never expect a girl to be able to do that to him. If anything, Marty thought with a chuckle, he'd been more likely to fall in love with _science_.

He frowned. But he hadn't really fallen in love with Clara, had he? Of course he hadn't, he couldn't have. It had only been one day after all. Sure, they had managed to rapidly become friends, but they weren't lovers. And they would never be, because tomorrow, Marty and Emmett would leave 1885.

He shook his head. But he _couldn't _leave 1885. Not without at least talking to Clara one more time. Just a simple conversation... she wouldn't be pleased if he just took his stuff and left without saying a word, after all, and he couldn't do that to her. However, Marty knew for sure that Emmett wouldn't agree to that. His best friend was getting more and more over-protective of him and of their journey to the future, and it was getting on Marty's nerves. But it meant that, if he didn't have a legitimate reason to go to Clara's apartment, he wouldn't be able to go. The teen looked over at his friend. Emmett was lying down and had been dozing off for a while now. But Marty knew he would certainly notice if he tried to leave.

Then, he suddenly got it. Of course, he still had Clara's telescope! He had to return that to her, after all. Smiling, he stood up. "Emmett?"

"What?"

"I'm going to return Clara's telescope" Marty said. "I should be back soon."

Emmett winced, though he was still clearly tired. "Do you really need to do that?" he asked.

Marty nodded. "Yeah, I do" he replied. "We can't just take Clara's telescope with us to the future, and we can't leave it behind either. Not only is it morally wrong, but it might also alter history."

Emmett yawned, as he always did when Marty lectured him – but in this case, it was for the best, as he was no longer as alert as he could have been. "Whatever" he muttered, rolling over. "Might be convenient, too – you can tell her we need to leave then. Just be back soon."

"I will" Marty said, grinning. He saddled his horse and set off.

Though he'd only visited it once, Marty found himself able to track down Clara's apartment easily. Of course, it was in the only hotel in town and he had _escorted_ her there himself twice already, so there wasn't any other place to look, but he was also able to find her room number easily. Marty knocked on the door several times, but got no response.

"Are you looking for miss Parker?" the bartender asked when he came back down the stairs.

"Yes, I am" Marty replied. "Have you seen her?"

The bartender gestured towards the doors. "She went out a few minutes ago. Stargazing, I believe."

Marty grinned. He could have figured that. "Thanks" he said, before heading out of the hotel doors and towards the back of the hotel. Sure enough, Clara was gazing up at the sky and at the bright moon. When she noticed his presence, she turned around with delight. "Albert!"

"Clara" Marty said, shyly. "I... I've come to return your telescope."

The girl smiled, taking the telescope. "Thanks, Albert" she replied. She then frowned as he kept staring at her. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, actually, Clara, there is" Marty whispered. "You see... it's like this..."

"Can it wait?" Clara interrupted him. "You have to see this, Albert. The sky is beautiful tonight." She gestured for him to come sit next to her. "Do you want to take a look through my telescope?"

"Actually..." Marty began, then changed his mind, "...yes, I suppose so." He couldn't bear himself to bother Clara with stories about leaving now. He sat next to her, taking the telescope and putting a hand on her shoulder. They could talk about goodbyes later. Now, gazing at the sky was more important.


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: Great Scott, not this again... I just don't own Back to the Future. Could I make it any more clearer than I have already? Well, I suppose these disclaimers every time aren't exactly necessary, but I just feel that they are. **

_Author's Note: Things happen, and tension builds! Will Emmett and Marty be able to succeed in their objectives and get back... to the future? Only one way to find out... and that's reading the next chapters, but since they haven't been uploaded yet, you'll have to do with this one. _

**16: Chapter Sixteen**

The next morning, Emmett Brown came to with a yawn. He hadn't slept like that for a long time. The return to this whole time travel business was wearing him out for sure. "This is heavy" he groaned. "Marty, are you aw-"

The sentence dried up in his throat as he looked around and saw that Marty was simply _not there_. Not at the place he was supposed to be sleeping, not in the truck... and one of the horses was missing, too.

"This is bad" he muttered to himself, then thinking of checking Marty's photograph. He took it out of his pocket and held it up to the sunlight. Was his mind playing tricks on him, or was the empty place where the deceased's name should be rapidly beginning to read 'Albert Einstein'?

Emmett turned around and raced towards his horse. He knew he shouldn't rush so much and that there was probably some kind of logical explanation for all this... but right now, he couldn't help but feel like Marty was in great danger. He took off towards Hill Valley and didn't bother to look back. Time was of the essence now.

It didn't take very long for him to get back in town and into the blacksmith shop. However, when he was there, he found that Marty wasn't around. Emmett groaned, and thought hard. Thinking wasn't his strong suit, but it was absolutely necessary now. Where could Marty be?

A thought suddenly popped into his mind, a thought about what had happened the night before. Marty had told him he had to go off and see Clara to return her telescope. Emmett winced, wishing he hadn't been too tired to notice the obvious excuse for spending some more time with her. Well, at least now he had a pretty good guess on where to find Marty. He ran up to the Palace Saloon and entered.

"Good morning Emmett" Chester greeted. "Didn't expect to see you here this early. What can I get for you today, the usual?"

Emmett waved his question away. "Nothing right now, Chester" he replied. "I just want to know something – have you seen my friend, Ma-Albert Einstein?"

Chester nodded. "He came in here last night, looking for miss Parker. I told him she'd gone stargazing outside, and he just went out. I haven't seen either of them since, though."

Emmett winced. "Thanks" he muttered, before he ran through the door and towards the place he now presumed Clara and Marty were.

It took no more than a few moments for him to find out that Marty and Clara were indeed there. However, they had apparently fallen asleep while stargazing, and were now leaning against each other. At least they were still fully clothed. Emmett frowned, and, in imitation of what Marty had done last Friday and he had done to Marty and Clara just the day before, he coughed.

Marty and Clara both came to with a start. Marty turned towards him first, and frowned. "Emmett? What are you doing here?"

"I came to collect you" Emmett replied. "A full night has passed since you walked away, uh, Albert. Have you been here all the time?"

Marty blushed, and Emmett could see Clara doing the same. "As a matter of fact, yes I have" the teen scientist confessed. "Clara and I have been stargazing. The night sky is really lovely in this time per... I mean, at that time of day."

"Yeah, right" Emmett muttered. "Never mind that, we have to get going."

"Get going?" Clara repeated, confused. "Where?"

Emmett raised an eyebrow, and turned to Marty. "Surely you've told her..."

"Uh... Clara?" Marty interrupted. "I, uh, need to talk with Emmett for a moment. In private. I'll be back soon, okay?"

"Okay" Clara promised, clearly wondering what Marty was doing. To be honest, Emmett found himself wondering the same thing.

"You didn't tell her?" he hissed, as soon as they got to the right side of the saloon. "Why! I thought you wanted to tell her we're leaving!"

"No, I came here to return the telescope" Marty corrected. Emmett gave him a glare, causing the teen inventor to sigh. "Fine, I did have the intentions of saying goodbye. But..."

"But what?" Emmett asked.

Marty sighed in resignation. "I can't, Emmett."

"You can't? Why!"

"Emmett... I'm amorously infatuated with Clara."

Emmett groaned. "This is heavy!" he exclaimed. "Marty, you can't be serious about this. We've got to go back to 1985! We don't belong here!"

"We don't 'belong' anywhere but where our heart is" Marty replied, almost poetically. "I'd expect you to understand that more than anyone else, Emmett. I thought you initially wanted to stay behind in 1885 because you liked this era."

"I did" Emmett admitted. "But as you told me, I can't. It would mess up history and all that. We're from 1985. We're not supposed to be here in 1885. Neither of us is supposed to exist here on September 7th, 1885. Nothing we did should have happened, and all of it is just messing with history. Burying the truck in that cave, sending a letter through Western Union, meeting with your ancestors, not..."

"Saving Clara from the cliff."

Emmett frowned, looking at Marty. "What?"

"Clara wasn't supposed to be rescued" Marty whispered, gasping. "She doesn't belong here! She shouldn't be alive here and now – just like we shouldn't!"

"You're right" Emmett realized. "But what can we do about it?"

"There's only one thing we _can _do" Marty muttered. "We've got to take her away from a place and time where she can alter history – which means taking her back with us."

"To the future?" Emmett asked. Marty nodded. "Do you think we can do that? Would she be able to skip a hundred years and settle in the future permanently?"

"I don't know either" Marty replied. "But if we want to be responsible time travellers, we have to do it, or at least ask her to do it. We can't leave her behind, nor can we dump her off the cliff again." He shuddered at that option, then looked up at Emmett with some final hesitation. "What do you think?"

"Marty..." Emmett said, putting a hand on the teen's shoulder. "You know I've always sympathized with you when you couldn't find a girlfriend that wanted to date you. And I know Clara is in love with you, too. So if you really believe that it's for the best to take Clara with us... then I'm incredibly happy for you."

Marty smiled. "Thanks, Emmett" he said, hugging his friend. "Come on. Let's fetch her."

Together, the two of them went off to the place they had left Clara behind. However, as they arrived there, Clara was nowhere to be seen. Emmett and Marty glanced at each other in confusion.

"Perhaps she went to look for us?" Emmett suggested.

Marty shrugged, clearly doubting that, but they went back anyway. Just moments after they arrived at the place they had formerly stood, the face of one of Buford's gang members came around the corner. As he saw them, he promptly started shooting. Marty and Emmett managed to narrowly dodge the bullets and Marty fled into the shack next to the Saloon, Emmett close on his trail. He just managed to avoid bumping into a stove. Lying next to it, he noticed among others a rope, some loose planks, and a hammer.

"What's going on?" Emmett whispered.

In response, Marty pointed at a crack in the wood. Through it, they could see Buford Tannen and his gang, holding Clara hostage.

"Listen up, Einstein!" Buford's voice sounded. "I told you I wanted to fight you for what you did to me Saturday, and now's the time! Now, I hate shooting pretty ladies, but if you don't come out and face me within one minute, I'm afraid that is what is going to happen to this filly here!"

Marty and Emmett exchanged glances. Emmett winced. This was just not their day.

oooooooo

Marty McFly groaned, and cursed the day he had come up with the idea for the flux capacitor. _"If not for the paradox it would create, I'd go back to March 1978 right after we fix this mess" _he thought, grimly. _"Provided we do fix it, of course." _And then to think there were so many ways this situation could have been averted. If they hadn't talked about Clara as long as they had. If he hadn't gone to Clara's house last night. If they hadn't gone to the festival. If they hadn't saved Clara in the first place. _"Although I suppose that would render this moot, since she'd be dead anyway..."_

"Marty" Emmett said, beginning to panic. "What can we do?"

"Two!"

"Several things" Marty muttered, feeling complete apathy and carelessness. _"Why? Why did we have to end up in this? What did I do wrong?" _

"Several things?" Emmett repeated. "We need something _concrete_, Marty! We've got to save Clara!"

"I know, I know..." Marty muttered. He looked out, where Buford was counting up to 'sixty'. "You know, he's counting awfully slowly. Probably because these days, people didn't yet have watches, or at least, most people didn't."

"Yeah, and Tannen is a bad counter..." Emmett muttered, "but no matter how slow he's going, he _will_ reach sixty! We need to do something now!"

Marty looked up at Emmett. "I know" he replied, sighing. "I know, but what!"

"Three!"

"That's up to you" Emmett replied. "You're the intellectual one, remember?" He leaned against the stove, and then frowned. "And this one isn't working along either" he muttered, giving the metal a pat.

"Well, maybe we could recruit it for other purposes than that of a pillow to support your back" Marty replied. "Remember the bullet-proof vest you used in 1985? If we remove that stove door... attached it to my chest... then I would be safe to go out there and rescue Clara."

"Buford could just shoot you in the head, you know" Emmett said.

"Four!"

"Not if he didn't know I was wearing it" Marty said. "I could cover it with my clothes. If he wanted to have a fight with me, then he'd most likely shoot me in the chest. And after that, it would just be a matter of pretending dead until I've got him in position to take his gun. And without a gun, Buford won't be so dangerous anymore. Now his gang is another matter."

"Yeah" Emmett said. "If he wants to shoot you, they'll probably take care of Clara. If everything happens the way you described it, they'd still hold her, and might shoot her anyway out of revenge."

"Five!"

"That's right" Marty admitted, thoughtfully. "And that is why you should go over and help her."

"Me?" Emmett repeated, stunned. "Why me... never mind, stupid question."

"You find some way to take out Buford's gang at the instant I disarm Buford" Marty said. "There ought to be something here you could use."

Emmett looked around, and smirked. "Yeah, I suppose that rope could be convenient" he replied. "And there's a hammer as well – I suppose I could whack one of Tannen's goons over the head with that." He frowned. "One thing, though – it would be hard to do that incon- incun..."

"Inconspicuously?" Marty asked.

"Six!"

"Yeah" Emmett replied.

Marty shrugged. "You've got to take what you get" he said. "If we work hard and everything goes as we planned it, then we should be able to succeed." He shuddered. "And if we don't... things might turn out _very_ bad."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Merry Christmas! I don't own BTTF. **

_Author's Note: Having concluded that my desperation for original disclaimers has extended to including period-accurate but otherwise totally random remarks just to provide originality, I welcome you to the latest chapter of my fanfiction. One which has very little to do with Christmas or the holiday season in general, but that cannot be helped. This chapter deals with Marty facing Buford, telling Clara, a combination of Doc Brown's most famous quote and Lorraine's quote from Part II that still manages to be in character (I think), and things going wrong at the end anyway because happiness is overrated and boring. (Just kidding, of course.) Oh, and Clara is confused about the words 'time machine' for a moment because HG Wells' book of the same name, which popularized the word, hasn't been published yet and won't be for another eight years, if I recall correctly. Anyway, sorry for this long Author's Note, rest assured that there are only three chapters and thus three author's notes left after this one, but please read and review!  
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**17: Chapter Seventeen**

It took the two of them every bit of Buford's 'minute' to get finished. Thankfully, Tannen stumbled over his seconds several times, especially in numbers which ended on 'seven'. In the end, they narrowly got ready in time. Emmett crept out and headed around the Palace Saloon so that he could approach the Tannen gang from the back, while Marty took a deep breath as he looked after him, checked his armour, and started walking up to the main street.

"Sixty!" Buford yelled, just a moment before Marty came up to the street. The outlaw was just aiming his gun at Clara, apparently half doubting whether to go along with it, when he noticed the teen. "Well" he grinned. "Looks like I won't have to shoot this girl after all."

"Albert" Clara whispered, horrified. "No!"

Marty, who was keeping himself back to avoid being a direct target right away, tried to blink to Clara to make his intentions clear, figured it wouldn't work, and then turned to Buford. "You wanted to fight me?" he asked.

"I certainly did" Buford replied. "Draw!"

"I don't have a gun" Marty pointed out.

Buford turned to his gang. "Give that pie-slinger a gun" he ordered. One of the gang members removed his gun from the belt and threw it towards Marty. The teen watched as it landed in the dust, then slowly walked over to pick it up. He cautiously put the belt on, then looked around. He could see Emmett behind the saloon, gazing at Clara. Apparently both of them were trying to make it clear to her that everything would turn out all right, but both were failing.

"Draw!" Buford repeated.

For a moment, Marty ignored him. He noticed Clara's leg getting hit by a stone – presumably thrown by Emmett. The teen winced, suspecting Emmett's cover would be blown any moment, but luck was with them – Clara thought it had come from the gang members, and gave the person next to her a kick in the shins. The bully pulled up his foot in pain while kicking her back, enabling Emmett to slip the rope in the place his foot had been. Marty smiled faintly.

"Well?" Buford said, impatient. "Are you going to draw? Or ain't you got the guts after all." He smirked. "Don't even _think_ you can back out now."

"I won't" Marty replied. He stepped forward and took his gun out of his pocket, listening to the clock striking eight. After the sound was gone, he faced Buford. "Ready?"

Buford smiled. "Certainly" he replied...

...and then, quicker than anyone would have imagined possible, he drew his own gun and fired. The bullet whizzed through the sky and hit Marty full in his armour plate. He dropped backwards, apparently dead.

"You bastard!" Clara shouted. Marty could hear her struggling with the gang again, and failing.

Buford laughed. "Thank you" he said, looking around smug while he walked up to the teen. Marty smiled, eager to get that smug smirk off his adversary's face. He had hoped Buford would walk towards him after the shooting, but he hadn't dared to count on it. But it was happening. Only a few more steps, and Tannen's gun would be within his range.

And then, out of nowhere, a small fly dropped down on his nose. Marty winced at the insect, wishing it to go away. He got unpleasantly reminded of what had happened in Biff's Casino, in the alternate 1985. And indeed, as Buford moved closer and closer, Marty soon found that he couldn't hold out as long as he wished. He sneezed, loudly, and then, everything started happening at once.

Buford gasped, and took a step back. As Marty opened his eyes, he could see the bully standing there, just outside of kicking reach, astonished but having his finger already on the trigger. Figuring that he had been found out anyway, Marty did the only thing he could think of to save his life. He seized his own gun and threw it at Buford's gun, hoping for the best.

The gun hit against Buford's weapon, causing him to drop it. Marty jumped back up, quickly taking his own gun back. He smiled as he heard Clara's sigh of relief, then, as he saw Buford running angrily towards him, smacked his gun against his face, letting go of it. The bully stumbled back in horror.

A quick look around told Marty that one of Buford's gang members had been going to the rescue only to trip over Emmett's rope. The second had been disarmed with the hammer. The third, however, had his gun pointed straight at Emmett. Marty froze.

Fortunately, Clara didn't. She kicked the remaining gang member in the groin, causing him to let out a yelp of pain. Emmett then took his gun and knocked him out with the hammer. Marty was about to let out a sigh of relief when he suddenly felt Buford grabbing his left arm and twisting it over his back. Marty screamed, cursing his own tendency to get distracted and suddenly remembering what his father had gone through at the dance. He'd never figured it could have been quite this painful. At least it wasn't his wounded arm... but he couldn't use that either. No, he had to resort to less refined methods.

Copying Clara, Marty moved out with his right leg and kicked Buford in the groin. The bully reacted similar to his accomplice and let go, enabling Marty to make a fist out of his left hand and smack it into Buford's face. Within a few times, Tannen fell against one of the tombstones in the undertaker shop with his head, breaking it.

Buford then took the top half of the tombstone and ran towards Marty with it. The teenager gasped, then narrowly managed to dodge out of the way. He stuck out his leg, causing Buford to trip over it. Tannen fell down into the sand, unconscious.

Marty smiled at his friends, while the Hill Valley police force came riding up to arrest Buford. At last, he had gotten rid of the meanest bully in Hill Valley. Perhaps he wasn't supposed to, and perhaps it might have consequences for the space-time continuum, but for now, Marty didn't care at all.

He walked over to Emmett and Clara, who were standing near the saloon entrance. "Good job, Mar-Albert" Emmett said. "I thought you were going to get yourself killed."

"So did I" Clara said, hugging and, after some hesitation, kissing him. Marty blushed. "But I'm glad it worked out well. Now Buford Tannen is finally going to jail."

"I'm happy too" Marty said, looking into her eyes. He knew now, more than ever, that he wanted to take her with them. He couldn't leave Clara behind in 1885, not without getting a serious case of broken heart. He took a deep breath, exchanged a glance with Emmett, and stared at Clara. "Clara... do you remember how Emmett and I talked about leaving?"

"Before Buford captured me?" Clara asked. Marty nodded. "Yeah, that's right. What was that all about?"

"Well, just as I said" Marty said.

"We're going to leave Hill Valley" Emmett specified. "But, uh, Albert doesn't want to leave you behind."

"I don't want to see him go without me, either" Clara confessed. "I came here to see whether Hill Valley would be a good place to live in – which it is. But more than be in Hill Valley, I want to be with you, Albert."

Marty blushed again, fiercer this time. "I want to be with you, too" he said. "And perhaps if things go right, you won't have to leave Hill Valley after all."

Clara frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Just wait and see" Marty replied, smirking. "We're going to the railroad tracks out of town. Are you coming with us?"

Clara hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Sure" she said. "But I'd really like an explanation."

"You'll get one as soon as we arrive at our destination" Marty promised. He looked around at the citizens of Hill Valley gathered around them, then held up his hand as a greeting before jumping onto his horse and taking off. Emmett and Clara followed close behind. Marty smiled, as he looked at them. His best friend and the woman he loved more than anyone else were there, and they were both with him. Yes, this was how he wanted his life to be.

oooooooo

Clara Parker frowned, as they approached the railroad tracks. On the spur was a strange kind of construction, including some kind of slope, and an odd carriage was on it. She had no idea what it was all about, and looked at Albert, who gave her a smile. That smile wasn't satisfactory for her, though. "What's going on here?" she asked, confused. "Why is that... thing on the tracks?"

"That thing, as you put it, is my invention" Albert said, getting off the horse and helping her off as well. "Or at least, the circuitry inside is." He looked at her. "This is my temporal field warping and displacement machine."

"Your what?" Clara asked.

"He means it's a time machine" Emmett clarified.

"Time machine" Clara repeated, trying to clarify in her mind what the words meant, but having the only conclusion she could come up with not make much sense. She looked at Albert, and frowned. "Are you joking? Time travel doesn't exist. You shouldn't think I'd be susceptible to such a folly just because I'm partial to the writings of Jules Verne."

"I don't" Albert said. "But it's true, and I can cede you proof. I had to explain it to my parental figures, back in 1955, so I've got some experience with this." He opened the carriage door and pointed at strange readouts in the centre. "These are the temporal displa... the time circuits" he informed her, pulling a switch. The readouts came to life, displaying what looked like dates. "This readout tells you where you are going, this one tells you where you are, this one tells you where you were." He pointed at a glowing Y in the back. "This is the flux capacitor. It is what makes time travel possible. You can see the current that is running through it." He turned the time circuits off again, then looked her in the eyes. "Clara, I... I love you. You don't really think I'm just making this up, do you?"

Clara looked him in the eye, and then towards the carriage. She had never seen anything like it before. "No" she finally admitted. "I'm sorry I didn't believe you at first, Albert, but..." She smiled. "I can't really believe it even now. But if you say it's a time machine, then I'm willing to accept that." She suddenly realized something. "Does that mean that when you said you were leaving, you wouldn't just be leaving Hill Valley – you'd be leaving 1885?"

"That's right" Albert said. "Our hometown lies hundred years into the times that have yet to come."

"1985" Emmett clarified. "I was born in 1920, and Marty won't be born until 1968."

"Marty?" Clara repeated, confused.

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you my real name earlier" Albert said, sighing. "It's Marty McFly. I couldn't say it, though, since my ancestors were around."

"Seamus and Maggie McFly?" Clara guessed.

"Exactly" Marty replied. "Their infant son, William, is my great-grandfather. I couldn't tell anyone who I was out of fear for endangering the time stream, so I chose the name of a scientist that is well known in my time period – Albert Einstein. At this moment, he's probably still a child."

Clara shook her head. "This is a lot to take in. You having a different name, and being from the future..." She smiled. "But Marty is a nice name too. And I don't like you any less for it." She looked at the carriage with hesitation. "So if you wanted to take me to the future, I'd say yes, I want to go along. The thought of being separated from you by hundred years' time is not something I'd like to bear."

"I wouldn't want that, either" Marty replied. They exchanged a kiss, and Marty turned to Emmett. "Well, then I supposed it's now time to get started with our plan."

"Your plan?" Clara repeated. "For going back to the future, you mean?"

"Exactly" Marty replied. "The reason we set up this construction is that the time vehicle has run out of fuel. We therefore need to use this catapult, send it up this ramp, and hope it reaches enough speed to send us back to the future."

"Albert!" Clara exclaimed. "I mean, Marty! That sounds extremely dangerous!"

"That's what I've been telling him, but he won't listen" Emmett said. "Sure, my plan – pushing the time machine up with a steam train – wasn't that safe either, but it sounds safer than this."

Marty waved it away. "Don't worry!" he exclaimed, cheerfully. "Assuming my calculations were correct, we should be in negligible risk and cause little alterations to the space-time continuum."

"I still don't like it" Emmett complained. "At least I don't have too much responsibility in it. I know I would mess it up."

"You managed all right in 1955, when you needed to help me get back to the future" Marty reminded him. "But never mind that, I'm perfectly fine with doing it. Although I'm still unsure about my capability to skateboard."

"Excuse me?" Clara asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You'll see in a minute" Marty promised her. "Emmett, take that pair of scrap spikes out of the back, will you? And the floating board?"

"Sure thing, Marty" Emmett responded, fetching the items. Marty took them, and attached a rope to the board.

"You know, that's an awfully long one" Emmett commented. "I don't understand what you need that rope for, anyway. Can't you just walk back?"

"Insurance I get taken along just in case the fuel runs out quicker than I expected" Marty said. "That reminds me, Emmett – I added a gauge for the fuel amount left in the tank. I put it on the passenger's seat. If either you or Clara could keep an eye on it?"

"I'll try" Clara said, smiling faintly.

"Good" Marty said. "Then now, we can proceed."

Emmett nodded, and he got into the left side of the vehicle, while Clara decided to sit down on the other seat. She smiled at the relative measure of comfort this future device offered, and then she tied the rope Marty threw her to the seat. Marty tied his end to the floating thing, and smirked. "Perfect!"

"Perfect?" Emmett repeated, sarcastically. "I feel absolutely ridiculous!"

"Well, that can't be helped" Marty said. "Are the time circuits on?"

In response, Emmett turned a switch, and the display Marty had previously demonstrated to her was activated. Now that she had had time to realize what it was, she realized the 'Last Time Departed' read NOV 26 1955, not 1985. She figured that she would have to ask Marty or Emmett about that some time.

"Input the Destination Time!" Marty called out. "October 27th, 1985, 9:00 AM!"

"That late in the morning?" Emmett asked. "I thought you didn't want anyone to see us."

"Well, since this is the last trip I'm planning on making for quite a while, I think we can afford us the luxury of matching our biological clocks with that of the time machine" Marty responded. "You got it?"

"Check" Emmett responded, punching in the date.

"Good" Marty said. "Clara, have you got the gauge?"

"Uh…" Clara looked around. "Yes, here it is. It says '10'." She looked at her boyfriend, confused. "What does that mean?"

"It means that we've got 10/100th of a gallon left in the tank" Marty replied. "All right, I think we're ready!"

"Marty?" Emmett asked. "One final question: are you sure this will work out fine?"

"Of course it'll work out fine!" Marty responded cheerfully. "If you put your internal functions to it, you can accomplish anything you want! Anything at all!"

"I'd like to have that in writing" Emmett muttered.

"Yeah, me too" Clara agreed.

"Sorry, can't arrange that right now" Marty responded, smirking. He took the scrap spikes, and slowly began removing the rock. As he was nearly done, he wildly nodded to Emmett, who turned on the engine and then hit the brakes. The rock was removed, the car nearly slipped out of control but narrowly remained caught in the catapult. One look at the fuel gauge told Clara it was beginning to descend.

"Marty?" she said. "You'd better come aboard!"

The response she got was the cocking of a gun. Clara and Emmett turned around, and saw the person they had hoped never to see again in their lives – Buford Tannen.


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own Back to the Future. **

_Author's Note: All right, this is a fairly short chapter, with a few wacky moments, but it's balanced out by the next one which I am therefore uploading right away. Hope you enjoy nevertheless.  
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**18: Chapter Eighteen**

Marty gasped, and nearly lost balance on the floating board. "I thought you had gone to jail!" he exclaimed.

"I broke loose" Buford said, simply. He held up his weapon. "I'm going to leave this area soon – the Marshall's hot on my trail – but first, I want to have the pleasure of shooting the three of you."

Marty winced. "What's that!" he awkwardly tried again, pointing behind the bully. In response, Buford started laughing. "You didn't think I'd fall for that again, did you?"

The teenager considered that for a moment, awkwardly reaching into the truck with one hand behind his back – and then he took a pillow (he wished he had something better, but that was the first thing he could reach) out of the car, reached out and hit Tannen with it. Marty then took advantage of Buford's surprise – the bully even dropped his gun – to take off on the board, pushing and kicking it to the other side of the truck with surprising speed. He tried to pull his foot loose, but realized that he couldn't – he'd added a strap to the board for safekeeping, and if he tried to untie it, he would give Buford the perfect opportunity to shoot.

Buford immediately set off in pursuit, probably thinking he'd finish with the others inside as soon as Marty was dead. The seventeen-year-old considered trying to use the rope (which was rapidly running out) against his adversary, so he could trip him. He shook his head the moment thereafter – it wouldn't work against someone who expected tricks from him, and he didn't have an opportunity anyway. At least Buford was forced to use his left hand now to shoot, which caused him to continuously miss his victim – his right hand had been damaged in their previous fight – but even that wouldn't prevent his legs from being faster than Marty's. The teen continued to make his way around the truck, but Buford was catching up to him. He passed Clara's door in the truck, certain that all was lost…

…when Clara suddenly opened that door, and smacked Buford in the face.

Tannen was stunned for a few moments only, but he didn't have more than that to think. Clara simply repeated her trick, and continued doing that until the bully was unconscious once again.

"Great work, Clara!" Marty exclaimed. He looked into the distance. "I see the Marshall and his men approaching. This time, they won't let him escape so easy."

"They can't see us" Emmett said. "We've got to get out of here… and quick. The fuel gauge is down to three!"

"Great Scott!" Marty exclaimed, and he started to reverse what he just did by moving back around the time vehicle. "We can't risk having the rope partially tied around the vehicle" he explained. "The time travel process might be distorted if the door is slightly ajar due to the rope going through the open end."

"I see" Emmett said. "But can't you just remove the strap on the board now?"

"Two!" Clara interrupted. Marty nodded frantically, and quickly removed the strap. He felt the temptation to whack himself across the head for not thinking of that himself, but as there was no time, he simply ran around the time machine, carrying the board. He nearly stumbled once, too, but managed to reach the other end.

"One!" Clara alerted him.

The young scientist threw the hoverboard into the car, along with the rope, and then dove after it. He landed more or less on Clara's lap, who let out a wince before muttering: "Zero."

Marty barely had time to shut the door before the engine stopped. The next instant, the catapult gave way and the time machine shot forwards, onto the ramp, and from there into the sky. The three time travelers were pressed back into their seats as the vehicle rapidly accelerated and gravity pushed them down.

"Emmett?" Marty asked, with a half-groan.

"Yeah?"

"Perhaps your train plan wasn't that bad after all."

Emmett smirked. "Well, it looks like this is working too" he quipped. "Look at the speed! We're over sixty!"

Marty looked towards the speedometer, which was indeed displaying higher and higher numbers. Sixty-five, seventy, seventy-five, seventy-six, seventy-seven…

Seventy-seven.

For a moment, Marty was confused. Then, he realized what it meant – they had reached their highest altitude. "Emmett! Wings!"

His friend had gotten the message and activated the wings Marty had attached to the time machine. Marty could see them flapping through the window, and he breathed a sigh of relief when they weren't descending – or rather, weren't descending radically just yet. "Good" he whispered.

"That was… odd" Clara said, smiling faintly. "Though the sensation of flying is interesting."

"It is" Marty confirmed, looking out of the window. They were pretty high up, as the ravine almost looked like it was a mere trench. "Emmett, you have to move the time machine down slightly."

"What?" Emmett said, confused. "Why!"

"We're mostly stuck at 77" Marty replied. "Since there is no more gas in the tank, we can't accelerate using the conventional methods. We need to lose height to gain speed."

Emmett nodded. "You're the Doc, Marty."

"Not yet" the teen reminded him.

"I'll be glad when I won't be hearing that anymore, at least for a while" Emmett said with a smile. "Okay, here goes." He pushed the steering wheel forwards, and fortunately the time machine did move in accord with it. They started descending again, and as they did so, Marty could see the speedometer start moving again. Eighty, eighty-three, eighty-five, eighty-six, eighty-seven…

"Brace yourselves for temporal displacement" Marty informed his companions. He shot a final look at the Destination Time of 'October 27th, 1985, 9 AM' before taking a deep breath as the vehicle hit eighty-eight. Only then did he wonder whether he had remembered to put fuel into the Mr. Fusion. Now that would have been a horrible mistake to make.

But Marty didn't need to have worried about anything. The flux capacitor discharged, and moments later the time machine lit up in a brilliant flash of light and with a sonic boom, it vanished from 1885. From the ground Marshall Strickland, who was just arresting Buford, looked up, but he saw nothing that could have made the noise.

Nothing except for a pair of particularly strange wings, which, having lost contact with the time machine they were supporting, now rapidly fell to the ground.

oooooooo

It took only a moment or two for Marty to realize they were in trouble. He was just breathing his sigh of relief that they had made it, looking at the time circuits and the flux capacitor, when he looked outside and realized that his wings were missing.

The next second, the time machine's inhabitants realized the impact of that. Suddenly without support, the car started diving to the ground. Marty had the presence of mind to turn off the time circuits as they rapidly accelerated towards an inevitable crash.

"Are we going to die?" Clara asked, horrified.

"The parachutes!" Emmett exclaimed. "We can use them to ease our fall!"

"Of course!" Marty reached out into the back of the car and soon found them. "Except… there's only two of them." He thought for a second. "You two take them. I'll take the board and hope for the best."

"But how do they work?" Clara asked, panicking.

For a moment, Marty had forgotten she was from a time before airplanes and parachutes. "Just pull the cord" he said. "Then a huge screen will emerge and ensure your safety. It's easy. Now please go."

"But what about you?" Emmett protested. Clara nodded.

"I'll be fine" Marty replied. "Go!"

Emmett and Clara shot him a reluctant look, then jumped. Marty watched their parachutes work, even Clara's, and then noticed he was getting closer to the ground. Holding onto the steering wheel until the last moment to lose at least some speed, he took the floating board, and turned towards the flux capacitor.

"I wish I had time to take you along" he muttered. "Goodbye." As the car passed the leaves of a tree, Marty jumped out and hoped for the best.

For a moment, it looked like the tree and the board were going to break his fall, as he landed on the top of the leaves all right. Then, he lost his balance, and fell backwards onto the tree branches a foot or two lower. While he fell, he heard a loud ripping and crashing sound several yards away, and he knew immediately what it meant.

His time machine, the first invention of his that had ever truly worked, was no more.


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I own Clara Parker and several other characters that come up in this chapter. BTTF in general, however, I still don't own. You can't have it all. **

_Author's Note: All right, this is the last chapter before the finale of the SmartMarty Trilogy, posted on Sunday January 26th 2014 A.D. Marty, Clara and Emmett have finally made it Back to the Future, but how is their condition? And what all has changed by their return? To find out, read and review! And the issue with the names of the new characters will be addressed in the next chapter, but I've had that already established as a personal canon for the SmartMarty-verse for years and honestly don't want to bother changing it anymore. Anyway, please read and review! We're almost at the end!  
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**19: Chapter Nineteen**

Clara didn't stop thinking she was going to die until the parachute-thing eased her down on the ground, and even then she wasn't so sure. She simply sat there for a few moments, before getting up and checking whether she was still intact. Almost miraculously, she was, save for a few scratches. "Golly" she muttered.

"Indeed" a familiar voice came close to her. She pulled the parachute from over her head and saw Emmett climbing back to his feet a few yards away. "At least we ended up in a relatively open place" he muttered. "If we had ended up in one of those trees, our situation still wouldn't have been that great."

"Right" Clara said. Something then occurred to her. "Where's Marty?"

Emmett let out a sigh. "He was on your side of the car, you should know" he said, trying a meager smile. "I hope he's all right. I can't bear the thought that he… that he…"

Clara shivered. "Neither can I" she whispered. After all, Marty was the boy she loved, the one she'd come to the Twentieth Century for. If he had passed away…

"Emmett? Clara?"

The two of them jumped at the weak, but easily recognizable voice. "Marty!" Emmett exclaimed, running into the direction of the noise – which, as Clara saw, was an area with several trees. "Are you all right?"

"For a relative value of all right" Marty's voice came. Clara, who had followed Emmett, could now see a vague shape in the top of one tree. "I didn't obtain any fatal injuries, but I think I might have at least sprained my ankle and gotten some bruises on other places. I hope I haven't broken anything – that will be much more difficult to explain." Emmett rolled his eyes at what Clara presumed was Marty disregarding himself in favor of being inconspicuous. "Plus, my arm is acting up again." He winced audibly.

"We've got to get you out of there" Emmett said, thinking hard. "Clara? There's a house next to the ravine. Can you go there and borrow a ladder? I'll keep an eye on Marty."

Clara nodded and was about to rush off, when something occurred to her. "How am I supposed to get out of the ravine?"

"There's a path over there" Emmett said, pointing in a northwestern direction. "You can't miss it. You can see the house once you reach the end of the path."

Clara nodded, gave one look at Marty, and then ran off. She went into the direction Emmett had told her to go on, and sure enough, there was a path. The girl climbed up on it, occasionally pausing to take a breath. She sure did hope Marty was going to be all right.

As she reached the end of the path, Clara leaned against some kind of sign. She could see the house Emmett had talked about. What was more, from where she was standing, she had a beautiful view of the entire ravine. There was now some bridge over it, and it looked all very alien to her. As she looked at the sign to make some sense out of it, she froze.

The top of the sign read 'Clayton Ravine', and gave a short history of the ravine – Clara noticed with some surprise that the ravine had been named after a teacher who fell in the day before she arrived in Hill Valley, back in 1885. What shocked her more, though, was the description of the cliff on the other side of the ravine. And its name.

Einstein Cliff.

Shaking, Clara read the text. "Einstein Cliff was named after a brave young man named Albert Einstein, who managed to outsmart notorious criminal Buford Tannen in a gun duel on September 7th, 1885. He and two unnamed friends were presumed killed that same day by a vengeful Tannen, and dumped off the cliff. There has never been found evidence for this, no bodies were ever even discovered, and Tannen has always denied the story, but folk tale wishes it that way and thus popular sentiment convinced Hill County to dedicate the cliff in Einstein's memory and name it 'Einstein Cliff'."

Clara took a deep breath. No use thinking about that now. She had a mission to accomplish. She ran towards the house, where a woman was hanging the wash onto a washing line. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"Hello" the woman replied. "Who are you?"

Clara was taken aback at the question and hesitated for a moment before answering. "I'm… Clara Parker" she said. She could've made up an alias, but if this was the time period she was going to stay in for the rest of her life, it would do her more harm than good.

"Ah" the woman said, although it was obvious she couldn't do much with that bit of information. "What do you want?"

Clara was again taken aback at the relative bluntness, but she ignored it. "Do you have a ladder I could borrow?" she asked.

"Yes, it's in the garage" the woman said. "What do you need it for?"

"My, uh, my fiancée fell into a tree" Clara replied. "He's hurt."

The woman looked puzzled. "Surely you mean he fell _out _of a tree."

"Actually, he was climbing in a tree, and he fell, and he landed somewhere lower on the same tree" Clara fibbed. She couldn't tell the woman Marty had fallen out of something flying, after all. Or could she? This was the future… "Anyway, he's hurt… and I think he might have broken some bones. He can't get out on his own."

"Oh dear" the woman said. "I think I should call a doctor."

Clara shook her head. "That really won't be necessary, ma'am. Marty will be fine once he gets out."

"Nonsense" the woman said. "It's no trouble." She headed inside to make a phone call, leaving Clara in a mild state of panic. She was sure Marty would not want to get a doctor involved, especially considering the events surrounding their crash having to do with time travel. But what else could she do?

The thought came to her almost right away. Of course! She'd been told where the ladder was, all she had to do was go and fetch it. Feeling a little guilty about borrowing a ladder without explicit permission, Clara headed over to the garage and took the ladder, which was fortunately easy to find. When she returned, though, she saw the woman had too. Carefully, Clara headed over to the bushes around the house, and crept through them back onto the path that had taken her here.

It took her only a minute or two to return to Emmett and Marty, who had made little progress. Emmett's face brightened as he saw her. "Ah, there you are" he said. "Not a minute too soon. If you'd stayed away any longer, I swear Marty would have tried to climb out on his own."

Clara chuckled. "I suppose his situation isn't that bad, then."

"I'll live" Marty quipped. She saw him make a small smile. "But Emmett's plan was very risky. Asking someone completely uninvolved to borrow a ladder from them… well, at least it ended well."

"…you might want to hold off on making that conclusion" Clara replied.

Marty frowned. "Why?"

"The woman I took the ladder from called a doctor."

"Great Scott!" Marty exclaimed. "Emmett, put that ladder into position! We need to hurry!"

Emmett considered protesting against that, then realized that it was useless to protest when Marty McFly had his mind on something, and instead he complied with the order. They had Marty and the floating board down relatively quick, and then found that they had to support him because standing upright was still too much of a problem. And so, they were about to move back to the path, when Marty gestured another way.

Clara frowned. "Marty, the way up is over _there_."

"I know" Marty replied. "But I need to see the temporal field warping and displacement machine."

The time machine. In all what had happened, Clara had nearly forgotten about it. The last time she'd seen it, she had jumped out from it, and then it was going towards the ground at an incredible speed. She couldn't bear to imagine what had happened to it. Emmett and she nodded and they went over to the place the time machine had been headed, fearing the worst.

'The worst' was a very good description for what had happened. Clara held her breath as she saw the machine that had transported her to this era completely destroyed. The car was scattered in at least twenty parts, all windows had shattered, the seats were broken, and the device labeled 'Fusion reactor' was destroyed. Marty gave it a glance, then turned to the time circuits. They had been detached, too, and electricity was still flickering through them. As they looked on, they saw the 'Last Time Departed' light up, displaying 'SEP 07 1885 09:00 AM' once more before dying out.

"Strange" Marty said, in an oddly calm voice. "I thought we departed a little earlier."

Emmett nodded, then took in his breath. "Marty – look."

Marty and Clara followed the direction his arm was pointing in to see the flux capacitor. The casing had shattered, and all three pieces were loose. Clara looked at her boyfriend's face and saw he was near tears.

"Emmett?" Marty said, hoarsely. "Clara? Would you mind taking the flux capacitor and the time circuits along, and perhaps the Fusion reactor? The rest can be taken care of later, but if a doctor shows up here and sees that…"

Clara and Emmett nodded. "But how?" Emmett asked. "We can barely carry you, after all."

"You can use my suitcase" Marty said, gesturing at the place the back of the time machine used to be. "It should be in the trunk… it was strong material, I'm sure most of it survived in one piece. If it has, you could store the flux capacitor and the temporal circuitry in it."

Emmett nodded. "I'll take a look" he said.

It soon turned out that Marty had predicted the flexibility of his suitcase correctly – it was still intact, and even most of the money seemed to be in order. The time travelers stuffed it into their pockets, and then they put the time machine components inside before continuing their way.

After what seemed to be an eternity, the three of them passed the house and headed into Hill Valley beyond. Clara had to gawk several times. There were cars, like the vehicle that had just been destroyed, but they were everywhere. Also, a floating… thing came over once, startling her out of her wits. She kept quiet the entire walk, while Marty and Emmett were busy ignoring the looks the townspeople were casting at them.

Just when Clara was about to give up on supporting Marty – he wasn't that heavy, but the distance they had to go on was long – they turned into John F Kennedy Drive (whoever that was), and Emmett smiled. "This is it" he told her. "Not much further now."

Clara frowned, but she didn't say anything and she and Emmett carried Marty the final yards to the garden of a big mansion. Emmett smiled broadly now. "It's good to see it again" he said. "After eight months…" He turned to Marty, reluctant. "Are you sure Jennifer's all right?"

"Of course she is" Marty said, smiling. "I told you, didn't I? She's fine."

"Right" Emmett said. "In that case, I'll go and fetch her."

He walked off, and Clara turned to Marty. "Would you like to sit somewhere?" she asked. "I'm not sure, but it looks like there are chairs on the other side of the garden."

"Yep, those are chairs" Marty confirmed. "But you can help me into the garage, if you like. There is a comfortable bed there I always lie down on when I get tired with my experiments."

"I thought you'd never get tired" Clara chuckled. She then smiled at her boyfriend, as they began to 'walk' over to the garage.

oooooooo

Emmett felt extremely nervous while walking onto the path to his mansion. There he was, seeing his wife again after eight months. If Marty was right, and she was there. Sure, he trusted Marty, but his friend wasn't always right. And he certainly hadn't understood much of the explanation Marty had given to him so long ago, when they were still in the alternate 1985. _"At least that's gone forever now" _he thought, remembering the state his house had been in there. Sure, it hadn't looked too different at first glance, but that had been night-time. Last night, in fact… and yet so long ago. Incredible.

The sixty-five-year-old shook his head. He was getting distracted again, or rather, he was seeking excuses to avoid pressing the door bell, like he should. Ignoring his nervousness, he resolutely stepped forwards, and rang the bell.

A sigh he'd never known he had went off his chest when Jennifer opened the door. "Emmett!" she exclaimed. "Where were you?"

She got her response when Emmett hugged her fiercely. "I'm so glad you're all right" he said. "It's so great to see you again."

"Wait a minute" Jennifer said. "Did something happen? You're usually never that passionate. Unless…" She smiled. "The time machine."

"That's the short explanation, yes" Emmett confirmed.

Jennifer grinned. "I was wondering when George and Lorraine called me this morning about Marty. They were asking where he was, but they seemed to know more than they were letting through. Well, I suppose I can call them back now, and tell them their son has returned. Where is Marty, anyway?"

Emmett looked over his shoulder. "I left him at the entrance of the path" he said. "He's with some girl… long story. Anyway, during the trip we just went on, he got hurt several times – and he's limping now. It's not really that bad considering what could've happened, but…"

"If he's limping, it sounds bad enough to me" Jennifer said. "I'll call the boys to help carry him over."

"Really, Jennifer, that's not necessa-" Emmett began. "The, uh, the _boys_?"

"Emmett! Martin!"

Emmett gasped as he saw two boys running down the stairs. One was roughly Marty's age, and the other was a few years younger. He gasped, realizing the implications, and turned to Jennifer. "Surely you don't mean…"

His question was answered not by his wife, but by the elder of the kids. "Dad?" he asked.

Emmett felt faint. "I suppose so" he whispered.

The elder kid turned to Jennifer and frowned. "Mom, what's up with Dad? I thought he went out with Marty."

"I'm not sure" Jennifer said. "I think I know why your father is behaving like this, but I'm not sure whether we can tell you right away. Not without showing you some proof."

"Some proof?" the older boy repeated. "Why? What's going on?"

"This has to do with one of Marty's inventions" Emmett then said, getting his breath back. "It's a really long story, but sufficient to say that your… mother… thinks you should come along to help him out."

"Sure thing, Dad" the boy said. "Where is he?"

"Out there, with a girl" Emmett said. "I'm not sure where he is right now, but he might be in the garage."

"Marty with a girl?" the younger boy said, grinning. "Now that's a strange idea."

"You'll see it for yourself soon enough" Emmett replied.

"Yeah, your father's right" Jennifer said. "Emmett, can you go to Marty with your brother now? Your Dad and I have some business to discuss."

The elder boy – Emmett Junior, Emmett presumed – nodded. He and his brother walked down the path. Emmett watched them go, then noticed his wife frowning at him. "What?" he asked.

"Emmett, did you just forget your kids or is something bigger going on here?" Jennifer asked. "I really doubt that, even if you were having one of your less intelligent days, you could forget your own children. So I suppose your strange reaction was caused by Marty's time machine."

"It was" Emmett confirmed. "I suppose so, at least. I don't think anything we did in 1885 could have caused it, so I presume Marty's actions in 1955 gave us kids."

"1885? 1955?" Jennifer repeated. "Sounds like you have some story to tell." She frowned. "Does that suitcase have anything to do with it?"

Emmett looked down – until then, he had managed to forget he was still carrying the suitcase they had stored the flux capacitor and time circuits in. "It does" he said. "I'll tell you all, but I think I've got to sit down for a minute first– my back is killing me. We had to carry Marty all the way over here from Clayton Ravine."

"We?" Jennifer repeated. "That mysterious girl Marty was with?"

"That's correct" Emmett said, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch. "Why don't you call George and Lorraine like you planned to do – this is going to be one of the longer tales."


	20. Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: If you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything... except enough disclaimers to cover fifty chapters. Oh, and owning BTTF.  
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_**(Credit for help with this disclaimer goes to one of my loyal and enthusiastic reviewers)**_

_Author's Note: This is the end, both to the story and to the trilogy. It turned out kind of sappy, because although I'm not very much inclined to sappy myself I tend to be unable to write a proper end without it. Ending a story is difficult, folks. Anyway, this is the twentieth chapter of TDITW, the fiftieth chapter of the SmartMarty Trilogy, and the final events in Marty McFly's life. If I ever write about the SmartMarty verse again, it would likely be a short story. Anyone looking for continuation from this particular incident could look in the appropriate chapter in "Travelling Through Dimensions" - Chapter Eight, I believe - or in my collaboration work with Bttf4444, "The Great Chase", where I believe this universe's 2017 pops up from Chapter Eighteen on. Anyway, this is the end. Hope you enjoyed it, and if you made it all the way through from the start, either from the first chapter of TDITW or from the first chapter of "Marty's Great Experiment", I congratulate and thank you for it. I think it's one of my better tales, but what do you think? I'll just end this author's note like I always do: Please read and review!  
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_Kind regards, _

_EmmettMcFly55.  
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**20: Chapter Twenty**

Lorraine Baines McFly smiled nervously at her husband, as they drove the family car up to the Brown mansion. Like the day before, they were attending their son's return from another journey through time. This time, he had headed to the future – and from what little Jennifer had told her, he had made several other time trips, too. Of course, one of them she could remember – since she'd seen Marty on part of his journey, back in 1955. She remembered how he had gotten beaten up, and shivered. It had been thirty years for her, but who could tell how long it had been for Marty? He might still be severely wounded. She sighed, wishing they hadn't let him go so easily in 1955.

As often, thinking about time travel brought a little smile on her face. She wished she could go along with Marty one day, to another time in the past or the future. Though she wasn't interested in it and in science fiction in general as much as George was, she knew she wouldn't refuse if her son would offer them or just her a ride. Not now, and definitely not in 1955, when she had still been her wild, courageous self.

Lorraine shook it off, as they parked in the driveway. Never mind that right now. They should focus on the present first, before planning any other trips. Marty had, according to what he had told her in the fifties, spent a month in 2015, and he had been in 1955 for two weeks. She didn't know what else he'd gone through, but she could imagine her youngest son being homesick.

"Well, we're there" George said, turning off the engine and getting out, then gentlemanly opening the door for his wife, who was still lost in thought. "What do you think Marty is going to tell us now?"

"We know some of his adventures" Lorraine said. "I get what you mean, though. In 1955, he didn't tell everything – and of course, there's what he did in 1885. We know he managed to save Emmett, since he's here, but Jennifer didn't tell me anything beyond that. At least now we're in the present, so there's a good chance he'll cut to the chase and tell us all the details, without further need for vagueness."

"You're right" George said, as they walked to the doorstep and rang the bell. "And well, we'll just have to wait and see for that. Anyway, I'm glad Marty – and Emmett – are safe and sound and back where, uh, _when_ they belong."

Emmett and Jennifer's daughter, Carla, opened the door a few seconds later. "Hi uncle George, aunt Lorraine" she said, enthusiastically, using the names the Brown kids always used to address them. "Sorry if I look a bit overwhelmed, Dad just told me about the time machine a few minutes ago. I still can't believe Marty actually managed to build one."

"Well, you know what things he can get up to when he puts his mind to it" George said. "How are your brothers doing?"

Carla smirked. "Emmett flipped when he heard about the time machine for the first time – he had an even harder time than I did accepting that Marty had managed to build it. Then, he was angry at him for not including him in the test… until Marty revealed that he didn't even know us, and neither did Dad." She frowned. "That was _weird_."

"Strange indeed" Lorraine said. They put their coats on the side of the hall and walked down to the main room of the mansion, accompanied by Carla. Lorraine took a deep breath as they opened the door. "Well, here goes" she muttered.

Once they were inside the room, Lorraine's eyes were immediately drawn to Marty, who was sitting on the couch. "Hi" she said.

"Hi, mother" Marty replied. "Hello, father."

"Hello to you too, Marty" George said, frowning. "Who's that girl sitting next to you?"

Marty blushed. "Well, to answer that, I suppose mother was right after all in 1955" he said. "Remember? The morning after the lightning storm? When we were talking about romantic infatuation?"

Lorraine frowned, thinking hard. Fortunately, a lot of the events surrounding meeting her future son had been burned into her memory, and she had written a lot of it down as well. "Wait…" she muttered. "If I'm not mistaken, I told you something about meeting your love in another time." Marty nodded. "But you can't mean…"

"I can, and I do" Marty replied. "Mother, father, this is Clara Parker, my female companion – my girlfriend. Clara, these are my parents, George and Lorraine McFly."

"I had figured as much" Clara said. She stood up, extending her hand. "Nice to meet you, sir, ma'am."

"Nice to meet you too" Lorraine muttered, confused. "All right, Marty's got a girlfriend – why do I get the feeling the rest of the story isn't going to be much of a surprise to us anymore?"

Emmett and Jennifer laughed, Clara smiled. "You're probably right" Emmett admitted. "Why don't you sit down, I'll fetch us some drinks and…"

"I think you'd better let me do that" Jennifer gently told her husband. "You know you're still shaken up about having kids."

"About having kids?" George repeated. Lorraine figured he hadn't quite caught on to what Carla had said earlier. "Sorry to interrupt you, but is that part of the story?"

"Apparently, it is" Marty said. "An indirect consequence of what happened after I got wounded in 1955."

"That's just freaky" Emmett Junior muttered. "To think I owe my life to you. And you don't even know me."

"That's correct" Marty said, looking at him with the look in his eyes Lorraine knew was his 'researching look', the one he used when encountering new problems or issues. For him to use it on someone she knew he had been friends with for years was very weird.

Her son turned to Emmett (Senior) and frowned. "Emmett, what on earth possessed you to name your son – the other one – 'Martin'? I won't blame you for picking your own name for your oldest son, since you can circumvent that by adding Junior, but why would you go and increase the confusion by giving your younger son my name?"

"Well, you prefer to be called Marty" Jennifer pointed out, answering the question her husband couldn't answer since he hadn't had any kids at all until this morning. "I get what you mean, though. We probably shouldn't have done that, but…" She shrugged. "I guess that, knowing what I know now, it had been seventeen years since he'd last seen you the way you are now, and he wanted to honor you."

"I guess that must have been my alternate self's reasoning" Emmett replied. Smiling mischievously, he added: "Be glad we didn't name Carla 'Clara', after the woman from the ravine Jenny's ancestor fell in. Now that would have been a mess."

Carla smiled faintly, and then she frowned. "It's so strange to realize that you are now someone who didn't know us until today, Dad" she remarked. "Are you ever going to remember us?"

"If I may answer that question – yes, he will" Marty interrupted. "I've gained memories of my second self's life over the past few weeks, and I gather the same will happen to your father. Especially considering the changes in his life aren't as radical as they were in mine."

"That's good to hear" Emmett Junior said. "To think of Dad being replaced with a stranger… well, I think I can bear it for a day or two, but not permanently."

"Don't worry" Marty reassured him. "If everything turns out the way I've observed from time travel processes so far, it shouldn't be any longer than that. Having multiple memories feels more like enrichment, really."

"You can talk about that later" Jennifer said. "I'll fetch the drinks, and after that, you and Emmett should finally be able to tell us your story."

Marty nodded, and as Lorraine and George sat down, they exchanged a brief glance. Lorraine smiled. After all they had been through, she felt much closer to her youngest son than she had before, and she was glad he had found a girlfriend. It was going to be a bit of an adjustment, but that could be addressed later. For now, it was time to have the how and the why explained.

oooooooo

The entire tale ended up being longer than either of them expected, especially because Marty ended up mentioning details Emmett thought of as irrelevant. Contrarily, Marty was rather shy once they approached the 'Clara' subject, which allowed Emmett to tell his perspective of the events to those gathered. They eventually finished together at the point where the time travelling trio had arrived back in 1985, with Marty wounded severely and the time machine destroyed.

Marty's final sentence had left a long and uncomfortable pause in the room, but Martin eventually ended up being the one who broke it. "So, are you going to rebuild the time machine?" he asked. "It sounds like a cool invention."

Emmett glanced in-between his supposed second son and Marty, wondering what the answer was going to be. Marty simply looked at his namesake for a while, then smiled faintly. "The time machine," he began, (it wouldn't occur to them until later that he hadn't used the longer version of his invention's name this time) "is not a toy. In the wrong hands, it can create disaster, as the accident regarding Biff Tannen shows us. However, the machine also has the potential to do good, like with my parents' improved life, your births, and, if I may say so, me encountering my lovely girlfriend." Clara blushed. "While travelling through time can still cause problematic divergences in the future, I am certain that if we are careful, those can be avoided. So I would say that yes, I am going to rebuild the time vehicle – but I shall do it using the most advanced technology possible to both ensure its security, and possibly have control over our alterations to time. I might even make a one-jump version of the machine, go to the far future, and modify it extensively there into a permanent time machine with all the tools that would undoubtedly be at my disposal there."

"Cool" Emmett Junior said. "I suppose that would take quite some time, though."

"It would" Marty admitted. "I am afraid that a working time machine might not be ready again for another year. Of course, one of the most important components is the car itself. Without a car, I have nothing to build a time machine into, and cars are expensive… and even if either of you would be inclined to let me borrow his or her automobile for that," he added, as Emmett was about to say that, "I'd still feel uncomfortable building and using a time machine that I wouldn't have full control and authority over." Emmett supposed he could see that point, given their discussion about the sports book _way_ back in 2015. "At least some items can be retrieved from the wreckage."

"That's right" Lorraine said. "Now that this whole mess is over, you ought to show us that flux capacitor of yours in more detail… if it made it through the crash, or once you've repaired it. After all, it's one of the few inventions you've made that actually worked without a glitch."

"Well, during this trip, I made a lot of working inventions as well" Marty said. "The plan I made for travelling back to the future from 1955 could be regarded as one, and, of course, the catapult."

"That was such a _great_ plan" Emmett said, sarcastically.

Marty shot him a look. "It would probably have worked out perfectly if we hadn't had the misfortune of my wings not being transported along" he said. "I admit that it was an error on my part that I didn't think about that, and I apologize. But surely you must understand that I was under considerable duress during that period."

"And I'd like to say sorry for _that_, Marty" Clara said. "If I hadn't distracted you so much, you might have been able to perfect the plan."

"Don't say that" Marty said. "It might have been true that you inadvertently caused minor delays to the working schedule for the preparation of my catapult which might have hindered its eventual operation, but that is far from certain. And even if it was certain, you couldn't have known. If anything, it was my error – and though I might blame myself for many things during our journey, I do not blame myself for meeting you. I'm happy that you're here, with me."

"Thanks, Marty" Clara said. "I'm glad I'm here with you, too. I have to admit that I haven't seen much of Hill Valley in this time period yet, but it certainly looks like a nice town to me. If a little paranoid, since that woman I took the ladder from wanted to call a doctor."

"Well, that might be the difference in morals between a modern town like 1980s Hill Valley and a rough frontier town like 1880s Hill Valley" Marty said. "There are a lot of differences between our time periods you will come across in the near future, and I'm afraid you'll have to learn to cope with them. Of course, I'll assist you to the best of my capabilities, if you'll let me…"

"But not now" Jennifer said. Emmett looked up to see his wife carry in several trays of food. "Emmett, Marty, Clara, I don't exactly know when you last ate, but after telling that story, I'm sure you'd like something more substantial than a quick snack. I know it's just after eleven and not the right time for lunch, but, well…"

"Don't worry" Emmett said. "After all we've been through, I doubt we care about those conventions anymore. Especially not today." He sighed, then repeated, to himself: "Especially not today."

oooooooo

It took two whole hours before the Browns and McFly's had finished their meals. Of course, the three time travelers had spent a long time without a meal, and it was natural they'd eat a lot now that they were back in their home time. Also, the conversation simply continued at the dinner table, which made for an extended delay.

For Marty, however, the conversation got less nice after a while. While he liked being with his friends and those he loved, he had his limits whenever he was surrounded by a great number of people. After being surrounded by others for so long, he felt a sudden desire to be alone again, to go back to his comfortable life of experimenting and inventing, the life he had lead before October 26th 1985. It was therefore that when he finished his meal, he excused himself and limped outside to sit at the edge of the garden, lean back and relax.

He hadn't even properly installed himself yet when the sound of footsteps alerted him. He didn't need to look around to realize that it was Clara. "Hi" she said. "I'm sorry to bother you, I know you wanted to be alone…"

"It's all right" Marty said, smiling at her. "I believe I can bear the company of just one other person."

Clara chuckled, and she sat down next to him. For a few moments, neither of them said a word, and then Marty looked at her. "So," he said, "between us… what do you think of life in 1985 so far?"

"Well, I certainly like the people of 1985" Clara said. "Your father and mother seem to be really nice people. And I like your friend Emmett, and his wife and children. I haven't seen much of the world outside this house, though. There are plenty of new things in here, but I'm sure I haven't seen everything yet."

"I'd certainly contradict you if you said you had" Marty replied. "There are a lot of things you'll need to learn. About history, but also about daily life." He looked at her, amused. "You know, I wonder why you chose to come along with us. You knew what would happen, didn't you?"

"I did" Clara said. "I wasn't exactly sure of the details, but I had a rough idea on how much my life was going to change once I travelled with you… to the future."

"Then why did you come with us anyway?" Marty asked.

"You know the answer to that question" Clara said, smirking. "Partly, it was because I was really curious about the future you were taking me to, but mostly it was because I loved you – and I couldn't stand the thought of you leaving me behind."

Marty smiled, and hugged her. "You know, some might think I shouldn't be as happy as I am now" he said. "I am pretty much handicapped for the next weeks, so that means I can't invent much. My time machine, which was my dream for so long, the dream I spent seven years and a lot of money on, is essentially destroyed. To the me from before this crazy adventure ride through time, that would have sounded like a nightmare."

"And it's not?" Clara asked.

"No" Marty replied. "Because though I'm wounded and my invention is gone, those are only temporary disasters. Granted, it will take quite some time to rebuild the time machine, but even that shouldn't take more than a year or two at worst – I know how to build it, after all. There is going to be a lot of trouble with expenses and there might be some times I'm not up to rebuilding the machine that nearly caused the world to blow up several times, but I know I'm going to do it in the end." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "What really matters are the long-term benefits I've gained. My parents are happier and healthier, which has made my own life happier too. Emmett has got children, which he subconsciously always wanted but didn't realize in the original time stream until it was too late. Those events might have been alterations to history, but they were good ones, and I wouldn't go back to change them even if I had a functioning time machine." He looked at Clara. "And…"

"And what?" Clara asked, a smile on her face.

"And I've got you now" Marty simply said. "And that fact is worth more to me than anything in the world. I would gladly see the expenses for three time machines go to waste if it meant I could have you in my life. I love you."

Clara smiled at him, and they kissed. Marty grinned. Now this was a scene he'd never imagined himself to be in, kissing a beautiful girl who actually loved him back. It only made more clear that his life _had _changed, decisively, and for the better. Indeed, he owed the world to his time machine.

**THE END. **


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